


In A Galaxy Far, Far Away...

by danigobingo



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, Eventual Jedi(s), F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, No major character deaths though, Some death, Star Wars AU, Supercorp slowburn, Will update the tags if need be, some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-12
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-04-21 23:39:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 47,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14295966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danigobingo/pseuds/danigobingo
Summary: Light. Darkness. A balance.The last living member of a dead planet desperate for revenge. The daughter of an esteemed family wanting to make a difference for good in this world of chaos.Their paths will clash as both join the Rebellion to take down the cruel Empire, during which both will discover who they truly are as their friendship grows and turns into something more.





	1. Episode I: The Kryptonian Menace

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fishingwild](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishingwild/gifts), [Pirina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pirina/gifts).



> Welcome to the Star Wars/Supercorp AU!!! I hope you guys like it! I'm not that big into the Star Wars fandom or mythology, but I still wanted to write this after I saw The Last Jedi in theaters. Hopefully I do this justice lol. 
> 
> I want to thank Pirina/Kakashi-Chidori for reviewing this chapter. You're my favorite!!!!!
> 
> This is also dedicated to Pirina/Kakashi-Chidori and fishingwild, who are both Star Wars and Supercorp fans. <3

_The Luthorian Empire has been in control of the galaxy for hundreds of years, spearheaded by the Luthor patriarch, Lionel._

_Not all of the planets were happy with his rule, however, and a rebellion broke out, with the planet Krypton leading the charge._

_Years of war plagued the galaxy until the untimely death of Lionel Luthor at the hand of Kryptonian rebel leader Zor-El._

_Zor-El is to stand trial for his crimes as the Luthor family grieves for their lost loved one, and a new Emperor is crowned…_

 

Lena stood on the balcony of her family’s penthouse, watching the sunset as it cast an orange glow over the capital. Metropolis had always looked beautiful, especially during this time of night. Lena sighed. It had been a long seventy-two hours, probably the longest ever in Lena’s thirteen years of life. Her father was found dead in his chambers, his throat slit like a pig for slaughter, and the man responsible was locked up several floors below her awaiting the trial that would be taking place early tomorrow morning after her brother is crowned the new Emperor. But tonight, she would be burying her father with the rest of her family and the members of the council, acting the perfect daughter of a perfect family. Just like every other day of her life.

Lena looked down below her at the cars floating above the streets, where several people were still milling about their daily business. She sighed. She knew that the poor didn’t much care for Lionel or his rule; he was rather indifferent when it came to people lower than him, so it didn’t surprise Lena that they were indifferent about his death. What did surprise Lena was how indifferent her family seemed to be about it, particularly her mother. Lillian had always had a cold demeanor and a harsh attitude, especially when it came to Lena herself, but this was…different. Something was off, but Lena couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

“Miss Luthor.”

Lena turned around to see her handmaiden, Jess, standing in the doorway.

“It’s time, Miss Luthor.”

Lena nodded, straightening her back and holding her head high as she followed Jess downstairs where her mother and brother were waiting, Lillian’s words echoing in her ears.

_Luthors don’t cry._

The words stuck with her throughout the entire service, canceling out the melodramatic voice of the priest and the monotone voices of the council members who gave speeches about Lionel and how he was the greatest Emperor this empire had ever seen and other such bloated statements. Lena knew that her father wasn’t a good emperor, but he was a good father.

_Luthors don’t cry._

Lena snuck a glance at her mother about halfway through the service, her mother’s expressionless face sending a chill down her spine. Lex also appears detached from the service; he looks bored out of his mind from what Lena could gather, and that also set her on edge.

_Luthors don’t cry._

The service ends after Lionel is carried into the crypt that houses all of the previous emperors and is finally laid to rest. Lena retired to her room after receiving countless condolences and offers of prayer for her family, thankful to be alone once again.

_Luthors don’t cry._

Once Jess helped her out of her funeral attire and into her sleepwear, Lena dismissed her and headed back out onto the balcony. The wind blew through her loose, dark hair as soon as she stepped outside, the midnight breeze chilling her to the bone. She should’ve brought a coat or at least a shawl out here, she realizes in hindsight.

The stars briefly distracted her from the cold, shining directly above her head like diamonds. Lena knew that most of these weren’t stars at all, but other planets light-years away. Her gaze fell upon a certain one, glowing just a little to her right. She recognized it immediately from her studies: Krypton. Lena’s stomach sank at the reminder of the trial tomorrow and the coronation that proceeded it. Lex was now of age to be crowned Emperor, and he will be the one to give Zor-El his punishment. Lena sighed in relief. Lex had always been kind to her where Lillian was harsh, and he had always protected her from their mother’s gripes. A small part of Lena held onto the hope that her brother would do the same for Zor-El, exiling him or locking him up in a cell for the rest of his days.

 _No more death,_ she prayed to no one in particular. _No more death._

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

“Zor-El of Krypton, you stand before the council and the mighty Emperor himself accused of murdering his predecessor. How do you plead?”

Zor-El remained silent, his blue eyes trained on the Emperor, both orbs as hard and cold as ice. He was flanked by two Jedi guards, each one holding the hilt of their lightsabers in case the prisoner tried something. Lena watched on in intrigued silence—this was her first council meeting after all—as her brother towered over Zor-El as if the Kryptonian was nothing but an insect. Emperor seemed to suit Lex, the dark cloak of their father’s resting like a feather on his shoulders. He had even shaved his head, looking more like Lionel than ever before, and Lena watched as Lillian smiled proudly at her golden boy as he donned the mantel at the coronation ceremony.

“He was born for this,” she whispered to Lena in a tone that suggested that she was not. Lena was used to receiving comments like that from her mother, but this particular comment didn’t bother her as much. Lena had no desire to be Emperor; that was always something she associated with Lex. She just wanted to stay in the background where she always had been, playing the part that had been given to her.

“Your silence leaves me no choice but to presume you to be guilty,” Lex’s voice boomed. Lena looked on in silence; she had expected as much.

“As punishment for your transgressions against the Empire, you are hereby sentenced to death.”

Lena’s heart stopped. _Death?_ Zor-El appeared to be unfazed by this motion as he inclined his head slightly, his eyes still locked on Lex.

“And one more thing,” Lex said, his lips curving up into a sinister smile. Lena stared at her brother; she had never seen him act like this before. What brought on this sudden change in behavior? “In light of recent events, I believe that it is best if we squash the Rebellion once and for all. Send the Death Star to Krypton.”

Both Lena’s and Zor-El’s eyes went wide. “Please, no!” Zor-El begged, falling to his knees. “Take my life, take whatever you want from me, but please! There are children living on that planet, innocent children!”

“That planet was also the birthplace of the Rebellion which resulted in the death of my father, Lionel Luthor.” Lex snarled. “This war ends today with your death and the death of your world.” Lex raised a hand and one of the Jedi guards plunged his lightsaber into Zor-El’s chest. It took everything within Lena not to let out a bloodcurdling scream as Zor-El crumpled to the floor like a rag doll, his mouth still open in shock. Lex turned around to the line of people behind him.

“Captain, prepare the Death Star and set a course for Krypton.”

“Yes, my liege.”

Lena sat there unmoving as the guards dragged Zor-El’s lifeless body out of the council chambers. Her mother got up to leave, her nagging voice snapping Lena out of her stupor and forcing her to follow her.

“What have I told you about staring?” Lillian griped as she stalked down the hall. “You were only there because Lex wanted you to be, despite my disapproval.”

Lena stared at her mother. “He wanted me to witness an execution of a man?”

“Not a man,” Lillian spat. “A traitor.”

“That doesn’t mean he had to die.”

Lillian rounded on Lena, stopping the young girl in her tracks. “You are not Emperor, Lena, and you never will be, so your opinion doesn’t matter. That man killed my husband, your father. Lex was only repaying the favor.”

“What about Krypton then?” Lena inquired, a strange heat bubbling in her chest. “The whole planet shouldn’t suffer for the actions of a few.”

Lillian scoffed. “That _planet_ is responsible for Lionel’s death, the Emperor said as much, and now the war will finally end.”

With that, Lillian turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Lena all alone in the hallway. Her mind was reeling from the events that had just played out before her along with the words her mother said. Were they really going to resort to this? Blowing up a planet, killing millions of innocents to end a war? The Death Star hadn’t been used in centuries, not even during Lionel’s reign was it even glanced at. Lena thought of the look in her brother’s eyes, the smile on his face as he gave the sentence. Whoever that was, that was not the Lex that she knew. Her sweet and kind older brother was gone, replaced by a madman, and Lena’s heart sunk upon the realization that there was nothing she could do now.

_Luthors don’t cry._

To hell with that.

For the first time in a long time, Lena cried.

\----------------------------------------------------------------

Argo City was thrown into chaos the moment word got out that the Emperor had Zor-El killed. Kara was racing after her mother towards the hangars, her older cousin right beside her as she bit back her tears. Her father was dead, and now the Emperor was coming for them.

“Hurry, Kara!” her mother said, her voice cracking slightly. “We haven’t much time.”

Kara followed her mother into the hangar reserved for the El family, where several pods were lined up and ready to go.

“Quickly, Kal, get in the first one. Both of you won’t be able to fit in one.”

Kal did as he was told and got into the first pod, nodding solemnly to Kara as Alura readied the pod for takeoff. “Goodbye, Kara,” he whispered. “May we meet again.”

With that, the pod took off towards the skies, never to be seen again. Kara watched as it disappeared behind the clouds as her mother practically shoved her towards the next pod. “Mother, what is that?” She pointed at the sky to an object that had just appeared in the sky. It looked like a moon…a moon that seemed to be moving towards them…

“Kara, get in the pod.”

Kara furrowed her brow. “Are you coming?”

Alura stopped what she was doing and looked at her daughter, a look of sadness in her eyes. “Come here, little one.” She took off the necklace she was wearing and fastened it around Kara’s neck. “Take this, so that you’ll always have a piece of me, a piece of Krypton with you no matter where you go.”

“Mother, what’s going on?”

“There’s no time to explain,” Alura said. “Just remember that I love you very much.” She pulled Kara into a bone-crushing embrace, trying her best to remain strong for her daughter. “Now go. I’ll be right behind you.”

Kara climbed into the next pod, her hand clutching her mother’s necklace tightly.

“Find the Danvers’ family,” her mother called out. “They will help you.”

Before Kara could respond, the pod launched into the sky, pushing her back against the seat. She shouted and banged against the glass, screaming for her mother, but it was no use. Alura was gone, and she wasn’t going to follow her. The pod reached the edge of the atmosphere just as the strange moon fired a beam of red light directly at Krypton, causing the planet to explode.

“ _NO!_ ”

The blast sent Kara flying through space, tumbling through bits of debris and space rocks. She closed her eyes, trying to steady herself, but it was no use. All of a sudden, the pod was pulled into a vortex, flying at the speed of light towards an unknown destination.

\---------------------------------------------------------

13 Years Later

 

“Kara, let’s go! We’re both going to be late for work.”

Kara threw her hair up in a ponytail as she put her glasses on. “Coming!” She bolted down the stairs and put on her jacket, smiling at an annoyed Alex when she got downstairs. “I’m ready.”

“About damn time,” Alex grumbled. “Let’s go.”

Kara rolled her eyes as they got into Alex’s vehicle and drove off into the square. The traffic began to get busier once they reached the center of town, the streets filling with flying cars, bikes, and pedestrians as the nightlife began to emerge.

“Why do have to work dead smack in the center of the city?” Alex asked, causing Kara to laugh.

“Because I actually like this job and the pay is good.”

“Are you implying that I don’t like my job?”

“That’s exactly what I’m implying.”

Alex glared at Kara. “You do know I took this job to protect you, right?”

“Always the protective older sister.”

“I’m serious, Kara!” Alex practically shouted, causing Kara to jump a little in her seat. “I…I’m not going to let them take you like they did Dad.”

Kara looked down in shame. It had been almost ten years since Jeremiah had been taken by Cadmus, the Emperor’s secret police. They had questioned him relentlessly about housing any illegal aliens—meaning Kryptonians—but he didn’t break, which Kara was thankful for. However, he was forced to work with Cadmus so the Emperor could keep a close eye on him; at least, that what Alex suspected. That wasn’t enough to sedate the Emperor though as he recruited Alex as well, threatening her father’s life, as well as Kara and Eliza’s lives, if she didn’t take the job.

“I’m sorry,” Kara finally said. “It’s just…”

“I know what Lex did to your father,” Alex finished. “And you’re right, I hate this job. But it’s only for a little while.”

“Alex, it’s been five years since you were recruited. How much longer is ‘a little while’?”

Alex sighed. “Hopefully not for much longer.”

Kara scoffed. They soon reached Kara’s workplace, a little underground bar called “Lost Stars”, and Alex parked the car to let Kara out.

“I’m pulling another late one tonight,” Alex said. “Think you can manage another way home?”

“I always do,” Kara feigned a smile. Alex rolled her eyes, told Kara not to get into any trouble, and pulled away, heading towards the capital building. Kara huffed. She loved Alex, she really did, and she hated that the older woman had to work for the man who basically kidnapped her father and murdered Kara’s own father. Kara also hated the fact that Alex viewed her as a burden, not to mention that she had powers now. This planet’s yellow sun had seemed to enhance her genes, granting her abilities such as heat vision, freeze breath, and super strength to name a few. She could also fly, which was how she was almost found out. Kara’s shoulders slumped; she was the reason Jeremiah and Alex were working for the Emperor. All of this was her fault.

Kara entered the bar through the back and hung her coat up on the rack.

“It’s about time you showed up,” a warm voice called out from behind the bar. “I was about to give your shift to poor ol’ Winn here.”

Kara chuckled. “Like he could make as much as I can, M’Gann.”

The woman named M’Gann laughed as well. “You got a point there, Danvers. No one pours these drinks quite like you do.”

“Damn straight. Hey, Winn.”

“Hey, Kara.” A tiny man popped out from underneath the bar, a wonky-looking tool in his hand. “Okay, that should do it.” Winn was a regular at Lost Stars, and he was good with tech and machines, so whenever a tap broke, Winn was on the job.

“Thanks, Winn.” M’Gann said. “First one’s on me.”

“Isn’t it always?”

“Don’t push your luck, Schott.”

Kara laughed as her friends bickered, getting her station ready for the night.

“Ready for another fun night?”

Kara looked up and smiled when she saw James Olsen walking towards her. “Hey, stranger. You feeling better?”

“Much better.” James flexed his fingers. “Hand’s all healed up and I’m ready to go. Miss me?”

“Only all the time.”

James laughed. “I missed you, too,” he said as he pulled Kara into a hug.

“Oh! James, can you give me a ride home tonight? Alex is working another late night.”

“No problem. I have some business to attend to first, but I can take you.” James winked as the first customers came walking in “Showtime.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

The night wasn’t as busy as Kara would’ve liked it to be, but she did manage to get a few good tips off of some Hellgramites. She was wiping off some spilt Aldaraanian rum off the counter when a strange, cloaked figure came walking it, taking a seat at the far end of the bar. Kara furrowed her brow. The figure didn’t take her hood off and she was anxiously twirling something with her fingers. Money, if Kara had to guess, which is what she could use right now.

“What can I get for you?” Kara asked as she made her way over to the figure.

“ _Udoliv._ ”

Kara froze. “What did you say?”

“ _Udoliv,_ ” the figure repeated.

Kara felt her throat close up from within. This stranger spoke Kryptonese, a language she hadn’t heard in over a decade. Not only that, but the stranger spoke a word that Kara also hadn’t heard in years, either in Kryptonese or English.

_Rebellion._

“I’m sorry, I think you have the wrong place,” Kara said, trying to keep her voice as level as possible.

The figure shook her head frantically. “No, no, this is the place.” She handed Kara the object she was twirling a few moments ago. “I was told to come here.”

Kara looked at the object, her eyes widening when she recognized it to be a Kryptonian coin. This couldn’t be happening. What exactly _was_ happening?

“Where did you get this?” Kara asked.

The figure shook her head. “Some guy shoved it into my hand and told me to ask for M’gann.”

“M’Gann?”

The figure nodded. Kara took a deep breath to steady her nerves.

“I’ll be right back.” She stormed to the back, where M’Gann was counting money.

“What the hell is this?” She threw the coin down in front of her friend, struggling to keep her anger in check; she was lucky the coin didn’t break through the desk. “Why is there some stranger at the bar asking for you and speaking in Kryptonian and carrying Kryptonian currency?”

M’Gann stared at the coin for a long moment, Kara’s patience wearing thinner with each passing second. Finally, M’Gann took the coin in her hand and stood up. “Do you know of the Kryptonian Rebellion, Danvers?”

Kara blinked, some of her anger subsiding a bit. Of course she had, she had lived through it. Was born into it. Lived long enough to see everyone she cared about suffer from it.

“Well,” M’Gann continued, leaning over her desk. “It didn’t die when Zor-El did. It lives on. The Rebellion is here.”

Kara’s heart quickened its pace. The Rebellion? Here? It was still going on? “Then why haven’t you done anything?”

“We’re still waiting for the right time to strike,” M’Gann replied. “And we’re still down twenty-to-one when it comes to manpower. Who did you say gave you this coin?”

Kara shook her head, still trying to wrap her brain around all of this. “Some stranger.”

“Is he still here?”

“ _She_ was specifically asking for you.”

A devious smile formed on M’Gann’s lips. “Take me to her.”

Kara did as she was told and M’Gann introduced herself to the stranger, who repeated the code word.

“ _Osh zhehoid,_ ” M’Gann replied, and Kara stared at her. _She knows Kryptonese too?_ The figure slightly relaxed upon hearing the response.

“What’s your name?” M’Gann asked.

The figure looked around, lowering her hood when she concluded that no one was watching. She was quite beautiful, Kara noticed, with long beautiful raven hair with a streak of blonde right above her left eye; her eyes were as green as jades, sharp and piercing yet soft; and her skin was pale, but had a doll-like beauty to it. Kara didn’t look away when the woman met her eyes.

“Lena. Lena…Thorul.”

M’Gann smiled. “That’s a lovely name. Follow me.”

Lena and Kara followed M’Gann to the back after she kicked everyone out, where pushed back a bookshelf to reveal a secret door. Kara’s jaw dropped. How long had this been here? M’Gann knocked four times and the door opened, the three women entering in one at a time. They walked down a dark hallway before coming upon a large room filled with people of all shapes, colors, and sizes. The walls were covered in various Kryptonian phrases, with one word repeating over and over again: _rebellion_. Kara looked around in awe; it was as if she was back on Krypton waiting for her parents to get off work so they could go home and eat dinner. It took everything within Kara not to cry as she looked around the sea of people, trying to see if there was anyone here that she recognized, to see if Kal was here. It had been years since they had last seen each other; Kara wasn’t all too sure if his pod landed on this planet at all. Unfortunately, Kara didn’t see him or anyone she knew and her heart sank. She turned and saw Lena looking around as well, her green eyes wide and a grin forming on her lips. She had a beautiful smile, Kara thought as she and Lena stood on each side of M’Gann, who was smiling proudly.

“Welcome to the Rebellion, ladies.”


	2. Episode II: Attack of the Cyborgs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara is wrapping around her head around the whole Rebellion thing as she begins to get to know the mysterious Lena Thorul. Meanwhile, M'Gann trains them in the ways of the Rebellion and the Emperor sends out robotic sentries to look for his missing sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update. Last few weeks of the semester + writer's block = endless angst. But I hope you guys like this 'cause there's a lot of Supercorp fluff in this one.
> 
> I want to thank Pirina/Kakashi-Chidori for reviewing this chapter beforehand. You the best!!

_The Rebellion is alive and well under the leadership of M’Gann M’orrz, despite the Emperor having supposedly squashed it thirteen years ago with the death of Zor-El._

_Kara Danvers is welcomed to the Rebellion with open arms, despite no one knowing she is the daughter of Zor-El. It is here where she vows revenge upon the Emperor and where a friendship with the enigmatic Lena Thorul begins._

_Meanwhile, Emperor Lex sends out sentries of his own creation to find his missing sister…_

 

Kara sat in the corner of the now empty room, her body humming with energy as the events of the evening replayed in her head. The Rebellion is alive. It was still alive after all of this time, but Kara hadn't felt relieved, not at first. In fact, she felt angry at M’Gann for not telling her about this sooner.

“How long has this been going on, huh?” Kara had demanded. “How long?”

“As long as I’ve been alive,” M’Gann had answered, her voice calm where Kara’s was strained. “My father became the leader a few years after Zor-El’s death, but he didn’t do much other than provide a safe space for those who had suffered under the Emperor’s hand for too long. Now it’s my uncle J’onn and me.”

“J’onn’s a part of this too?”

“Mhmm. Everyone you see here, they have lost too much under the Emperor’s rule and want to see things change.”

“But why haven’t you done anything?”

“Like I said to you upstairs, Danvers, we’re in desperate need of manpower as well as actual power. Weapons, intel, and the like. We have a few spies, but only the few, and their intel is too little and too late for what we want to accomplish. We also have radios that are connected to the talkies the Cadmus soldiers have, but we don’t hear anything except patrol routes and the like. At the moment, we’re still nothing more than a glorified shelter for bohemians.”

“Okay,” Kara conceded. “But why didn’t you tell me? I’m your best friend, M’Gann, and you know what my answer would’ve been.”

“I know, and I was going to tell you, but then your father and sister got recruited into Cadmus, and I couldn’t risk it.”

Kara felt her throat close up from within, understanding but still hurt at M’Gann’s reasoning. Shortly afterwards, she found James and Winn at one of the tables, not totally shocked to see them here, but still quite shocked nonetheless. Kara learned that both of them had been part of the Rebellion for the past year, and that James got injured while on a mission.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“M’Gann told us not to,” James explained, a guilty look in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Kara.”

Before Kara could tell him it was okay, that she didn’t mind—even though that wasn’t _completely_ true—the room went silent as M’Gann stood upon a table and began to speak.

“We welcome two new recruits to our ranks tonight: Kara Danvers and Lena Thorul. One sought us out despite the threat of arrest, the other is the sister I never had. I hope you welcome them with open arms as I have.”

Everyone broke into applause as James and Winn pat Kara on the back and muss her hair respectively; the blonde lowered her head and fiddled with her glasses as she tried to fight off the oncoming blush.

“I know many of you are getting antsy just waiting around here for something to happen,” M’Gann continued. “I am too. I am sick and tired of waiting because the Empire has allowed injustice to go on for far too long.” She held up a hand to quiet the rowdy voices of the crowd. “But there is still hope for a better tomorrow. There is still hope that we will rise above the ashes to provide a better future for generations to come. My friends, my brothers and sisters, hold onto that hope for our patience now will ultimately be the Empire’s downfall.” M’Gann’s hand closed into a fist and her eyes became rock hard. “ _El mayarah._ ”

“ _El mayarah!_ ”

The crowd shouted the motto of the House of El, roaring their approval as they shouted it over and over again like a mantra. Kara remained in her seat as the spectacle played out before her, amazed at the passion and heart these people had for a cause her father championed all those years ago. The anger she was feeling before had subsided, now replaced wholly with a resolve that she hadn’t felt in a long time. Kara notices another figure sitting down amidst the leaping bodies, and it’s none other than Lena. Kara furrowed her brow. From the way Lena was acting earlier, Kara would’ve expected her to be jumping up and down with their new comrades in solidarity, but the woman’s green eyes were as hard as diamonds and a smile was plastered on her red lips.

The meeting ended a few moments later and everyone went their separate ways, all except Kara who opted to stay behind for a bit, telling James to go on without her. M’Gann conceded and told her to lock up when she left. Kara sat there as her eyes pored over the Kryptonese symbols on the walls, and her heart swelled knowing that the language of the dead planet lived on through M’Gann and her friends. For the first time in a long time, she no longer felt like the odd one out. For the first time, she felt like she belonged.

“Do you plan on spending the night here?”

Kara turned to see Lena walking towards her, her hood down and her dark hair cascading over her shoulders like a regal waterfall. The sight almost made Kara’s heart stop.

“Kara, right?” Lena asked, her eyes shining in the dim light. “I don’t think we were properly introduced.”

“Oh yeah, yeah,” Kara stammered, her mouth going before her brain could catch up. “Kara is me, I am Kara.” She grimaced. _What the hell was that?_ Lena laughed, but to the blonde’s surprise, it wasn’t judgmental or harsh, but sweet and soft.

“Nice to meet you, Kara. I’m Lena.”

Kara stood up and shook Lena’s outstretched hand, trying not to dwell on how warm and soft the woman’s skin was. “So what brings you to the Rebellion? Sorry if you’ve been asked that already.”

“No, it’s all right.” Lena said as she folded her arms across her chest. “The same reason as everybody else. To see change happen in the Empire.”

Kara smiled. “And what kind of change would you like to see?”

Lena reciprocated the smile, and Kara decided that it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. “The good kind.”

The tone Lena used almost broke Kara’s heart and made her want to wrap Lena up in a hug and tell her that everything was going to be all right. What did Lena lose to make her feel this way? _Who_ did she lose?

“Then it looks like we have our work cut out for us,” Kara said, the smiles on both her and Lena’s faces growing wider.

This was going to be a beautiful friendship, Kara thought to herself.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

“Kara, come on! We haven’t got all day.”

Kara snapped out of her reverie and sprinted to catch up to Alex, who was carrying a basket of herbs and various other substances in her hand. They had both gone down to the marketplace in the square to get some medical supplies for Eliza, and Alex was growing increasingly frustrated with Kara the longer they were there.

“What the hell were you looking at?” Alex inquired. “You’ve been staring off into space the past few days and you’re staying at work later than usual, are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah! Yeah, I’m fine!” Kara said a little too enthusiastically. She hadn’t told Alex about the whole Rebellion being literally underneath her workplace for obvious reasons and she hated herself for keeping this from her sister, but Alex’s loyalties were to Cadmus and she was one of their finest officers, so Kara couldn’t risk it. She had also been thinking about Lena nonstop, and Kara didn’t know how she felt about the strange woman just yet.

“Something’s up with you,” Alex said, her eyes narrowed. “What is it?”

Kara’s throat went dry and her heart hammered against her sternum, threatening to break out of her chest and run around the square. Before she could come up with a suitable lie, however, a familiar blonde streak passed through her peripheral, and she turned to see a female figure throw her hood over her head as she ducked into an alleyway.

_Lena._

“I’ll meet you back at the house,” Kara said as she began to shuffle away. “I have to…deal with something real quick. Work thing. Totally forgot about it earlier.” She ran over to the alley as Alex protested behind her, ducking into the dark street just as members of the palace guard marched by. Her eyes scanned every dark corner for Lena, her x-ray vision helping out tremendously. She eventually found her at the end of the alley, looking at some sort of device in a highly concentrated fashion.

“Lena.”

The woman jumped slightly, nearly dropping the device as she quickly pocketed it. “Kara, hey. What are you doing here?”

Kara froze. What was she doing here? She had seen Lena and followed her here…Rao, that sounded so creepy. “I, uh…I saw you run back here, and I thought…” _I wanted to see you again. I wanted to talk to you again because I couldn’t stop thinking about you. No, no, don’t say that._ “I thought you…might be in trouble.”

_Nailed it._

Lena raised an eyebrow. “What kind of trouble do you think I would be getting into?”

Kara swallowed nervously. “The…bad kind?”

Lena threw her head back and laughed. “You’re something else, Kara. I don’t know what it is, but I like it.”

 _She likes me!? I mean it?_ “Really?”

“Yeah. Are you coming to the meeting tonight?”

“Well, I guess I don’t have a choice since I’m a member now, right?”

Lena chuckled. “I guess not.”

Kara nodded, the silence becoming more awkward the longer it went on. “So,” Kara said, hoping to make this situation less awkward. “Do you live around here?”

Lena folded her arms across her chest, shaking her head slightly. There was a peculiar look in her eyes, but Lena spoke before Kara could pinpoint it. “No, I, uh, I kind of…ran away.”

Kara’s eyes widened. “What? Why? Sorry if I’m prying, but…”

“No, it’s okay,” Lena said, her voice soft and reassuring. “It’s just…personal.”

“I am so sorry for prying, I didn’t mean to…”

“Kara, Kara.” Lena took Kara’s hand in her own, the blonde trying not to blush as Lena squeezed it. “It’s okay. I’m just not ready to talk about it yet.”

Kara nodded. “Yeah, of course. I’m sorry. Do you…do you have any place to live? Forgive me if I’m overstepping, but if you don’t, you can stay with me.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! I live with my ado…my mom and sister, but they won’t mind.”

Lena furrowed her brow. “Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude.”

“You won’t be!” Kara countered. “And you can stay as long as you like. I can get you a job at Lost Stars if you want. M’Gann seems to like you and I do too, so it won’t be that big of a deal if you…”

“Kara.”

Kara stopped her rambling, the look in Lena’s eyes so soft that it made Kara want to melt. “S-sorry. I, uh, I ramble when I get nervous.”

“So I’ve noticed,” Lena smirked. “But I have to respectfully decline.”

Kara deflated considerably, her heart falling into her stomach. “Okay. I understand.”

“It’s not you,” Lena was quick to say. “It’s just…I have some stuff I need to work out first, and I don’t want you or your family to get hurt because of me.”

Kara furrowed her brow. Lena was involved in something, something dangerous by the way Lena’s heart was racing. Kara wanted to ask more, but kept silent; she had pried enough already. “Okay. If you ever want to talk about it, though, when you’re ready…I’m here.”

Lena smiled, her body relaxing slightly. “Thank you. I’ll see you tonight?”

Kara nodded. “Yeah. Tonight.”

With that, Lena walked by Kara, putting her hood up before she exited the alley. Kara let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding in crushing realization. She had a crush on Lena.

_Dammit._

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

The next few weeks pass by rather quickly as Kara and Lena learned the ins and outs of the Rebellion. She excelled in weapons training and covert operations, which put a smile on both James and M’Gann’s faces as they were in desperate need of spies. Lena, on the other hand, proved herself to be a force of nature in tactics and mechanics, as she rewired the radio to get a better frequency to better reach Cadmus, making Winn’s jaw drop in the process.

“This is fantastic, Lena!” he exclaimed. “We’ll be able to hear them better now, so we can plan better in the future!”

Kara was equally, if not more impressed as a swell of something surged in her chest when Lena met her eyes with a giddy look on her face, and the blonde couldn’t help but smile. Lena just got more amazing the more Kara got to know her, and she wanted to know more about Lena. It was a hunger, a desire to get closer to Lena, and Kara wasn’t sure how longer she could fight it off.

They were the last to leave headquarters that night as Kara locked up shop. They walked through the empty streets, talking and laughing just as they were hours before, but trying to keep their voices down as they were out past curfew. Along the way, Kara heard a voice within her saying that she could get used to this.

“You know, I would walk you home, but I don’t know where you live,” she said, eliciting a laugh out of Lena.

“Such the gentleman, you are, Miss Danvers.”

“Well, I am nothing if not that.”

“That’s not true,” Lena countered. “You’re my only friend in the Rebellion.”

Kara scoffed. “Now _that_ is not true. People love you!”

She noticed the color rise in Lena’s cheeks once she said that, feeling the heat rise in her own as well.

“Well,” Lena started. “That may be true, but you’re the only one that matters to me.”

Kara looked down, unable to hide her smile. “Really?”

“Really really.”

Kara’s smile grew wider, her heart jumping for joy within her chest. _She likes me. She likes me!_ Before Kara could form a response, Lena grabbed her and pulled her into an alley with such force, it might’ve left bruises on her arms if she bruised.

“Get back!”

Lena pushed Kara against the wall, her hand lying protectively over the Kryptonian’s stomach. Kara attempted to peek out a little bit, her heart leaping into her throat when she saw three cyborgs walk past them. They stopped a little ways away from where Lena and Kara were hiding, the one in front turning to face his subordinates. Kara felt a shiver run down her spine when she saw its one red eye glowing maliciously under the streetlight. What were these things?

“The Emperor believes his ward to be somewhere in this area,” the robot said, his voice gruff and metallic. “Find her, and bring her back _alive_.”

The robots saluted their superior before turning to start their search. Kara remained absolutely still as Lena’s heart rate skyrocketed in her ears. Were these the new night patrolmen? Nothing about this situation sat well with Kara, but she knew that she and Lena would be fucked if these machines found them after curfew.

“Who are they looking for?” she asked as quietly as she could once Lena led her further down the alley. Kara didn’t know the Emperor even had a ward; she didn’t think him to be kind enough to take in someone. Lena took a shaky breath and ran a nervous hand through her hair.

“Lena?” Kara asked. “What’s wrong?”

After a few painfully silent moments, Lena looked up at Kara, her green eyes locking on the Kryptonian’s blue ones.

“They’re looking for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave a comment if you want!!
> 
> If you want, you can follow me at its-danigobingo-world.tumblr.com and we can cry about Supercorp together and be friends!


	3. Episode III: Escape from the Palace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Lena gets captured by Henshaw and his cyborg sentries, Kara breaks into the Emperor's palace to rescue her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So so so sorry for the late update. Life had been happening, but the update is here!! I hope you guys like it!!

_Despite their best efforts, Lena is captured by the cyborg sentries led by the nefarious Hank Henshaw and is taken back to the palace._

_With a lot of unanswered questions and no one to help her, Kara attempts a risky rescue mission, one that might put her identity in jeopardy forever._

 

Kara’s mind was in a whirlwind as Lena dragged her through the alleyways of the city, trying to avoid detection from the three robots scouring the streets. “Lena, slow down!” she whispered, even though she was perfectly capable of keeping up. Not that Lena needed to know that right now. “Where are you taking us?”

Lena didn’t respond as she weaved between buildings like a dark shadow, her grip on Kara’s hand tightening as they came upon a run-down building. Kara recognized it as an Imperial research facility, abandoned some time ago a little after Kara arrived on Earth. Lena led her inside, the overwhelming darkness not a problem for Kara, but the blonde was shocked that Lena was able to find her way through the pitch black with relative ease.

“We should be safe here,” Lena said as Kara followed her into an abandoned lab in the back. “Just don’t make any noise.”

“Lena, what the hell are we doing here? What is going on?”

Lena didn’t answer, instead pulling a device out of her cloak that Kara recognized. “What is that?”

Lena’s eyes widened as a couple of red dots popped up and thrust the device back into her pocket. “Fuck! Get down!”

She pushed Kara down to the ground, both crawling under one of the tables as Kara’s super-hearing picked up two sets of metallic footprints entering the building. How the hell did Lena know they were coming?

“I traced the signal back here,” an accented robotic voice said. Kara held her breath as her heart hammered against her sternum. They were so screwed.

“She’s here,” the lead cyborg growled. “Find her.”

Lena’s hand found Kara’s, squeezing it so tight that it threatened to cut off the blonde’s circulation. Kara squeezed back as gently as she could as she felt her power surging through her veins like electricity, itching for her to do _something_. If they stayed, they were dead; if they tried something, they would most likely end up dead as well. But Kara wasn’t about to let Lena be taken by these goons. An idea popped in her brain just then: a bad idea, but an idea nonetheless.

“What are you doing?” Lena harshly whispered as Kara adjusted her position beside her.

“Honestly,” Kara replied. “I don’t know. Just follow my lead.”

Before Lena could protest, Kara blasted one of the cyborgs with her heat vision, the burning hole in its chest causing it to crumple to the ground like a rag doll.

“Go!”

Both women made a break for the door, narrowly avoiding a blast from the lead cyborg’s red eye as they sprinted out of the building and onto the streets. Kara fired back, hitting the cyborg in the shoulder before they sped down the alleyway with no idea where they were going, but as long as they got away, they didn’t care.

“Kara, slow down!”

Kara wasn’t listening. Her powers were racing through her body like fuel in a pod racer, prompting her to go faster.

“Kara, wait!”

The Kryptonian kept running, her speed increasing until she was literally running on air. Kara couldn’t help the grin that was growing on her face. It had been so long since she flew, she had almost forgotten the exhilarating feeling that came with it; how free and alive she felt. It was all rushing back to her like a powerful wave, and Kara was soaking up every second of it. It wasn’t until she heard Lena shout in pain behind her that she skidded to a stop.

“Lena?”

Kara turned around, but didn’t see Lena anywhere. She didn’t even recognize the area she was in. She must’ve run farther than she thought. “Lena?” She sprinted back down the alleyway, but the dark-haired girl was nowhere to be found.

“Lena!”

Kara got no response, her heart dropping down into her stomach when she realized Lena must’ve been taken. But how? One of the cyborgs was “dead” and the other was incapacitated, so…Kara felt her throat close up. There were only two cyborgs in the building with them. The third one must’ve been waiting outside to ambush them. How could Kara have missed that? Because of her, Lena was now gone, and there was only one place they could’ve taken her.

And there was only one person who had the resources to help her.

\-----------------------------------------------------

“Wait, wait, hold up,” M’Gann said, trying to stifle a yawn. “Can you repeat that one more time?”

Kara repeated her story once more, leaving no detail out. She had flown to M’Gann’s place not too long ago, hoping that the barkeep could help her with her situation. “Lena is in trouble, so we gotta do something. Call up James, Winn, anybody. We need to get down there and rescue Lena.”

“Slow down, Kara,” M’Gann said. “As much as I want to help you, I can’t.”

Kara furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that I can’t help you,” the barkeep repeated as she crossed her arms over her chest. “The Palace is heavily guarded at all times, surrounded by Stormtroopers and starfighters, and the Rebellion is still vastly outgunned and outmanned to take them on. Going there in the state we’re in would be suicide.”

“But we can’t just leave Lena there.”

“Look, I know you care for her, Kara. I do too, but this is war. Sometimes we lose people in more ways than one. I’m sorry.”

Kara gritted her teeth as her hands curled into fists. “You call yourself a leader? A leader wouldn’t just sit here and do nothing.”

“A leader also knows when to pick and choose her battles,” M’Gann retorted. “And this is one that we cannot win.”

Kara was fuming by the time she got back to her house, her conversation with M’Gann playing over and over again as she paced back and forth in her room, trying not to wake Alex and Eliza. She couldn’t let Lena rot in that prison cell, if she wasn’t killed first. Kara shuddered at the thought of Lena kneeling on the executioner’s block, the same place her own father knelt before his demise. Kara took a deep breath and grabbed her red cloak. Her mind was made up. She knew what she had to do now.

\------------------------------------------------------

M’Gann was right about one thing: the Imperial Palace was going to be _extremely_ hard to break into. The place was practically overflowing with Stormtroopers and TIE fighters and other military-grade vehicles, so Kara had no idea how she was going to sneak past unseen. Her bright red cloak didn’t help the situation much either. In hindsight, she should’ve grabbed Alex’s uniform; that would’ve made this whole mission easier. Kara huffed. She didn’t even know where the prison cells were located, much less how she was going to get Lena out when she got there. Maybe M’Gann was right about this as well. Nevertheless, Kara wasn’t about to abandon Lena now, so she took a deep breath and crept forward, sneaking past parked starfighters and inching towards the entrance. A pair of approaching footsteps caused Kara to stop in her tracks and duck behind one of the fighters. A Stormtrooper stalked past, and a light bulb went off in Kara’s head.

 _Bingo_.

After making sure no one else was nearby, Kara reached out and easily subdued the Stormtrooper with her super strength and put on his suit. It was a size too small and she couldn’t see a damn thing out of the helmet, but Kara couldn’t wait for another Stormtrooper to come around, so she hid the unconscious man’s body underneath the starfighter, picked up his gun, and walked towards the Palace. She was almost at the entrance when a female voice stopped her in her tracks.

“FN-3187!”

Kara slowly turned around to see a Stormtrooper with dark grey metallic armor and a black cape walking towards her with two other Stormtroopers flanking her. “Why aren’t you at your post?”

Kara blanked, all of the training with the Rebellion vanishing from her brain instantaneously. “Um, I…got lost?”

“You’re lucky I’m feeling charitable at the moment, FN-3187, or you would be facing the Emperor himself for your insolence. Report back to your post at once and don’t let me catch you pulling another stunt like this again.”

Kara nodded vehemently. “Yes ma’am.”

With that, the Stormtrooper and her guards walked away, leaving Kara alone and wondering what to do. She really should’ve thought this through before charging in headfirst. Oh well. She saw a couple of other Stormtroopers walk towards what appeared to be a side entrance, so she hurriedly followed them inside, hoping that they would lead her to Lena.

The Palace was even bigger on the inside, with the walls made out of pure cortosis and the floors a rare marble. Kara continued to follow the Stormtrooper pair down the hall at a safe distance, passing several rooms that Kara assumed were living quarters of some sort before losing them when they boarded an elevator. Kara let out an annoyed huff. Lena had to be around here somewhere. Kara took the elevator down when it returned, pressing the button to the bottom floor out of instinct. Surely, the Emperor would keep his prisoners, especially ones he sent cyborgs for, in a place where they couldn’t easily escape, right?

Turns out, Kara was right. When the doors opened, she was greeted with row upon row of cells, each of the doors appearing to be constructed by industrialized steel and lined with lead so Kara couldn’t see into them. There were only two guards present in the room, and they were standing on either side of a large door at the end of the hall. Kara knew she was being hopeful, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that Lena was behind that door.

“Can I help you, FN-3781?” one of the guards asked.

The training came back to Kara in that moment, albeit sparingly. “I’m here to relieve the both of you.”

“The both of us?” The other guard stepped forward, his finger threateningly close to the trigger of his weapon. “Then why are you by yourself?”

 _Shit_. “My partner’s taking care of some other business, so I decided to go on ahead. He should be here shortly.”

The two guards exchanged a look, and Kara knew she was fucked. The first guard raised his gun, the other following suit as he radioed in for backup. Kara dropped her gun and raised her hands over her head. “Whoa there, fellas. I think we can find a solution that doesn’t involve violence.”

“Who are you?” The first guard demanded.

Kara’s eyes flitted back and forth between her captors. Alex was going to be pissed when she found out about this. “You said it yourself. I’m FN-3187.” She grabbed her gun off the floor and knocked out the first guard with a blow to the head. She rushed the other guard, but he shot her, causing her to stumble back. Kara put a hand on her side, shocked to discover that while part of her armor was obliterated, her skin was still very much intact.

“ _What_ are you?” the guard asked, his voice filled with awe. Kara responded by knocking him out as well, taking one of the cards from his belt and using it to open the door. Her victory was short lived when she was attacked from above, her new assailant forcing her to the ground violently. Kara could barely see anything out of her helmet, but she felt her attacker fumble for her gun, so she pushed them off, sending them flying against the wall. The attacker groaned in pain, and Kara recognized her immediately. “Lena?”

“That’s Princess Lena to you,” Lena snarled. “And you are going to let me out of this hellhole.”

 _Princess?_ “That’s…that’s what I’m here to do, actually.” Kara took off her helmet, the lights in the cell nearly blinding her as Lena’s eyes widened.

“Kara? What the hell are you doing here?”

“Rescuing you, of course. Now come on, before more of these guys show up.”

Before they could do anything, however, the elevator doors opened up to reveal a large handful of Stormtroopers with their weapons pointed directly at them.

“I take it this wasn’t part of your plan?” Lena’s voice was dripping with sarcasm as she took the gun out of the arms of a stuttering Kara and began shooting at their assailants from behind the cell door. Kara watched in wonder as Lena took down five Stormtroopers singlehandedly. “You could help, you know,” Lena said as she took down a sixth.

“That was my gun you took!” Kara retorted.

“Well, if I’m remembering correctly, you can shoot lasers out of your eyes.”

Kara’s heart skipped a beat, giving her pause for a brief moment. That seemed like such a long time ago. Nevertheless, Kara steeled herself and launched herself into the battle, clearing a path for both of them with her heat vision. Good thing she was bulletproof. “Come on, let’s go!” Kara shouted as she headed towards the elevator.

“No, not that way,” Lena said. “There will be more when we get up there, if they aren’t already on their way down.”

“So what, we’re just sitting ducks waiting to die?”

Lena looked up at Kara, a raw determination in her jade-green eyes. “We aren’t going to die. Not today, at least.”

She walked over to a vent located in the corner of the room and blasted a hole through it. “Come on.” Lena crouched down and entered the vent, Kara following suit as they crawled for a decent amount of time before coming across another vent. Lena pushed it open and they both crawled out into what Kara could only assume was a sewer system by the rank stench alone.

“This way. Come on.” Lena led her through the endless maze of tunnels with relative ease before coming across a large door, opening it to reveal an empty field far from the Palace. They were safe.

“So,” Kara started. “You’re the princess.”

“And you’re from Krypton.” Lena smirked as Kara’s eyes went wide. “Sounds like we both have some explaining to do.”


	4. Episode IV: Who Shot First?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After escaping the confines of the Imperial Palace, Lena and Kara argue over whether to stay with the Rebellion or leave the city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Pirina/Kakashi-Chidori for reviewing this chapter. You're the absolute best!

_With the palace far behind them but the threat closer than ever, Kara and Lena decide what their next move is, both having very different ideas of what they should do._

_They ultimately decide to leave, so M’Gann sends them to find the best smuggler she knows, a hotshot pilot with a penchant for causing trouble in all the wrong places…_

 

Kara and Lena make their way back to the downtown area of Metropolis, taking advantage of the darkness blanketing the area as they maneuvered through alleys and dim-lit streets. Luckily, there was no one patrolling the streets, but Kara’s nerves were still very much on edge; Lena’s too if her rapid heartbeat was any indication. A million questions were racing through Kara’s mind. She wanted to ask Lena why she was being held in a cell if she was the princess, why she was outside the comfort of the palace in the first place, why she wanted to go against her brother, her own family, but the words died on her lips whenever Lena made a sharp turn in the darkness. Another question that Kara had was how well Lena knew her way around this area. She was the Imperial Princess, how was she so…street-smart? It was almost unnerving to witness.

They didn’t stop moving until they entered the alleyway Kara had followed Lena into a few weeks ago—it felt like a lifetime ago now—and into a door carved into the back wall. Once they were inside, Lena turned on a light, giving Kara an opportunity to get a better look of the room.

It was very quaint, the room, and was made even quainter by the lack of paraphernalia adorning it. There was a sleeping mat that was worn on the edges in the corner of the room, topped with a flimsy blanket and another set of gray, dingy clothes. There were a few candles by what Kara assumed was the head of the bed next to a small stack of supplies, including small portions of rations, a water canister, and a golden necklace with a dark green stone attached to the end. It was very beautiful, Kara thought, the way the stone shimmered in the dim lighting. It reminded her of the necklace her mother gave her. She enclosed her hand around it as if to make sure it was still there around her neck, heat burning at the back of her eyes as the memory of Krypton exploding and the resigned, sad look in her mother’s eyes washed over her like a large wave. Kara was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of Lena scrambling to put a pack together. “What are you doing?”

Lena doesn’t look up and continues to hastily throw her meager belongings into the pack. “What does it look like I’m doing?” she spat, her tone annoyed. “I’m getting the hell out of here.”

Kara’s eyes went wide. “What? Why?”

“Why do you think?” Lena finally turned to look at Kara after she rolled up her mat, the harsh look in her green eyes piercing Kara’s invulnerable skin. “I’m a fugitive, even more so now than a few months ago, so I have to get as far away from this place as possible.”

“But you can’t leave now!” Kara argued, the revelation that Lena had been living here for _months_ repeating on a loop in her brain. “You’re part of the Rebellion now, they can help you.” That wasn’t the only reason Kara wanted Lena to stay.

Lena scoffed. “In the state they’re in, they will be no match for an Imperial soldier, let alone the Imperial Army.”

“I highly doubt the Emperor is going to send the entire army after you, Lena.”

“He’s going to send people after me anyway.” Lena pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled loudly. “Stormtroopers, cyborgs, bounty hunters, anything and anyone who has the skillset and loyalty to my brother to bring me in.”

Kara furrowed her brow. “And why does the Emperor want you back so badly? Besides the fact that you’re his sister.”

Lena’s body tensed up and she glared at Kara with a heat in her eyes that almost rivaled the Kryptonian’s. After a few long moments of tense silence, Lena returns to her task at hand. Kara watched as Lena picked up the necklace and looked at it, ache and longing replacing the frustration in her eyes. “That’s a beautiful necklace,” Kara said tentatively, hoping to ease some of the tension between them. “Who gave it to you?”

Lena shot Kara a look before shoving the necklace into her pocket. “Why does it matter?”

Kara shrugs sheepishly. “Just trying to make friendly conversation.”

“We shouldn’t be having a conversation at all.” Lena threw the last of her possessions in her pack and stood up facing Kara. “I can’t stay here, Kara. It’s too dangerous for me, for you, and for everyone else in this city. I am not going to let innocent people suffer anymore because of who I am.”

Kara stared at Lena incredulously. “But _you_ , Lena, haven’t done anything wrong.”

Lena scoffed. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know you’re a good person.” Kara took a step towards Lena, a pleading look in her eyes. “I know that you are _nothing_ like the Emperor, and that you are too good and too smart and too pure to follow in his footsteps.”

Lena rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Some people might disagree with you on that.”

“You said you wanted to bring about the good kind of change to the Empire, didn’t you?”

The use of Lena’s own words against her startled her, so Kara continued. “Well, now’s your chance. Be the force behind the good change.”

They stared at each other for several minutes before Lena spoke again. “I can’t do that if I’m dead, Kara.”

Her words gave Kara pause, the thought of Lena dying sending a chill down her spine. Did the Emperor really want his sister dead? If so, why? What did Lena do to piss him off that she saw no other choice but to run away?

“Now if you’ll excuse me,” Lena continued. “I have to find a ship to stow away on, and you need to lay low. I have no doubt that Henshaw and his goons will be looking for you as well after that stunt you pulled. Thank you for saving me, by the way.”

Kara was spluttering as Lena made her way past her. “W-wait! No! You don’t get to quit that easily.”

“I’m not quitting, I’m surviving.”

“Looks like you’re quitting to me.”

Lena paused and let out a long breath before turning around. “Can we drop this, please? The longer I stay her, the more danger everyone is in.”

“Regardless of whether or not you leave, Lena, people are still going to get hurt,” Kara retorted. She had to make Lena see reason. “It’s been that way for a long time, but you can put a stop to it.”

“How?” Lena asked. “You know what, forget it. It was nice knowing you, Kara.”

Lena began to make her way towards the door once more, leaving Kara to gape after her. She closed her fists in frustration. She was not going to let Lena just walk away from all of this. Not after everything they’ve been through. Granted, they had only known each other for a handful of weeks, but Kara wasn’t going to give up on Lena. She had risked her life and her identity to save Lena. That had to mean something, right? If leaving Metropolis was Lena’s choice, Kara was going to respect that, but that didn’t necessarily mean that Lena was going to go alone. Kara zoomed past Lena at the speed of light, returning only a few seconds later to a shocked and confused Lena with a pack of her own in her hand.

“How the…what…what the hell are you doing?” Lena asked, her face drained of what little color was there.

Kara couldn’t help but smile a little as she threw her pack over her shoulder. “What does it look like? I’m coming with you since you’re so adamant about leaving.”

“Kara, no. You have a life here. I don’t. Besides, I would feel so much better if I knew you were safe, especially since you have…powers by the looks of it.”

Kara felt her heart constrict at Lena’s sentiment, her affection for the woman growing by the second. “You can have a life here, Lena. With me, with M’Gann, and the rest of the Rebellion if you help us take down the Emperor and his regime. We can bring about an era of peace that the galaxy hasn’t experienced in a long, long time.”

Lena huffed and looked down, remaining silent for a long time as her finger tapped her bicep rhythmically. Kara watched her expectantly, her heart hammering harder against her sternum with each passing second. Before Kara could say anything more, however, Lena spoke. “All right. I’ll stay. But if we fail to overthrow my brother, I will not hesitate to leave.”

Kara nodded her agreement as they shook hands. “Okay.”

\------------------------------------------------------------

They made their way to Lost Stars just as the sky turned a lighter shade of blue. Kara used the spare key M’Gann had given her a few months into working there, and she and Lena entered the bar, the combined smell of old liquor and stale tobacco filling Kara with a sense of ease. “Do you want a drink?” she asked as she went behind the bar. “I normally don’t drink this early, but we both had a long night.”

Lena sat on the same stool she did the night she and Kara met. “Got any wine?”

Kara looked around at the selection of alcohol behind her, her fingers brushing over old and new bottles alike until she came across a familiar one. “Have you ever had Sacorrian wine?” she asked as she poured Lena a glass. “It’s not my personal favorite, but I have a few regulars that swear by this stuff.”

Lena smirked. “Well then, I have to try it now? Aren’t you going to drink anything?”

Kara bent down and pulled out a bottle of caramel-colored liquor, a slight smile on her lips. “I’m more of a brandy girl myself.” Kara poured herself a glass and raised it. “To bringing about the good kind of change.”

Lena repeated the toast and clinked her glass against Kara’s, downing her drink in one gulp.

“Wow, you really needed that drink, huh?” Kara asked, her eyes and mouth both wide with amusement.

“I’m going to need about ten more of these if I’m going to convince myself that staying here was a good idea,” Lena said as she held out her glass, her eyebrow raised knowingly.

Kara laughed in an attempt to mask the heavily rising blush on her cheeks that she was sure wasn’t just because of the harsh alcohol burning her throat. “I’ll open up a tab for you then,” she said as she poured Lena another drink.

“I thought you said these drinks were on you.”

“I never said that.”

Lena’s smirk turned into a genuine smile, and it made Kara’s insides melt. Lena had the most beautiful smile that Kara had ever seen, and she would do anything to keep that smile on Lena’s face for as long as she could. Just then, the door swung open and M’Gann walked in, nearly dropping her key when she saw Lena. Her eyes hardened when they landed on Kara.

“Office. _Now_.”

Lena gave Kara a confused look as the latter shrugged sheepishly. This was going to be interesting.

“Do you want to explain to me how Lena Thorul is sitting in my bar when just hours ago you told me she was being held captive in the Palace?” M’Gann warm brown eyes were now hard as stone as she closed the door behind her and Kara. Kara gave her the biggest innocent grin she could muster, but M’Gann wasn’t having it. “Kara,” she started, “please don’t tell me you broke into the Palace _alone_.”

Kara remained silent, several explanations and excuses dying on her tongue as her eyes avoided M’Gann’s piercing glare. She had done the right thing.

“Kara, I told you that going there _by yourself with no back-up_ was a suicide mission. What the hell were you thinking pulling a stunt like that?”

Kara knew exactly what she was thinking: Lena was in trouble and Kara had to help her, no matter what. “I’m not going to apologize for doing the right thing.”

“This isn’t about doing the right thing, Kara, it’s about putting your life at risk,” M’Gann argued. “If something had happened to you, what would I tell Alex?”

Kara froze as a lump formed in her throat. She didn’t think about Alex or what she would do if Kara had been captured or worse. “I don’t know.”

“Of course you don’t! You don’t think, Kara, you leap before you look, and one day that’s going to get you killed!”

Kara finally looked up at M’Gann, her jaw tense and set. “So what? I was supposed to just leave Lena in that hell hole for them to do Rao knows what to her? I don’t abandon my friends, M’Gann. I would’ve done the exact same thing if Alex, or you, or James, or Winn, or anybody I cared about were in Lena’s place. _I don’t abandon my friends_.”

M’Gann stared at Kara for several long minutes with a curious look in her eyes as Kara breathed heavily and angrily before her. The exhaustion of both the rescue mission and this argument were beginning to make themselves known, and Kara’s shoulders sagged a little under the weight. “What’s done is done, okay?” Kara said. “Lena is back and we’re here to stay, and we’re going to fight with you until the Emperor and his regime are no more.”

M’Gann didn’t respond right away, only letting out a long huff of breath as she cocked a brow. “How did you both get out? You don’t seem to have a single scratch on you.”

Kara smiled sheepishly. “Well…”

It took the better part of an hour explaining the whole story to M’Gann, whose eyes were bugging out of her skull by the time Kara was finished talking. Kara wondered if Lena was all right out there by herself; it was still quite early, so the bar shouldn’t have any other customers at the moment.

“So let me get this straight,” M’Gann said. “Lena is actually the Imperial Princess and you’re from Krypton.”

Kara nodded. “Yup.”

“Huh.” M’Gann chewed on her lip thoughtfully. “How do you know Lena isn’t a spy?”

“She’s not,” Kara growled, the intensity of her response scaring her a little bit. “If she was, why would she be imprisoned for it?”

M’Gann hummed. “Well, now I know why you were so freaked out when Lena came in with that coin.” Her eyes widened. “Oh my god. Why didn’t I see it before? You’re the daughter of Zor-El.”

Kara’s body tensed up as her eyes burned with unshed tears at the sound of her late father’s name. She nodded slowly.

“Well, as much as that fact excites me, there are more pressing matters at hand,” M’Gann said as she sat down at her desk. “For one thing, you are no longer safe here. Neither is Lena, for that matter, so the both of you need to get out of the city as soon as you can.”

“But we can’t leave,” Kara countered. “We chose to stay here with the Rebellion.”

M’Gann chuckled softly. “Kara, the Rebellion isn’t just here. It’s everywhere, all across the galaxy.”

“It is?”

M’Gann nodded. “Your father inspired a lot of people in his day, my uncle included. He’s been traveling a lot to convince people to join the cause. I can send you and Lena to his location.”

Kara blinked in surprise. She had only interacted with J’onn a handful of times while working here and found it strange that he never seemed to stick around for very long considering he was the owner. Guess this answers that. “Where is he?” Kara asked.

“Not too far from here, but far enough where you should be safe.” M’Gann pulled out a piece of paper and began to scribble something down on it. “He’s on Earth in Sector 1 with some new recruits if his last message is anything to go off on. You should be safe there.”

“But—”

“Kara, if anyone on the wrong side figured out who you actually are, they will do everything in their power to capture you,” M’Gann explained, a worried look in her eyes. “And maybe even kill you.”

Kara swallowed nervously. She knew just as much when Lena explained it to her, but that didn’t make it any less nerve-wracking. “How are we going to get to Earth?”

M’Gann finished what she was writing, folded up the paper, and handed it to Kara. “This is where you should find J’onn. I’ll send word to him that you’re coming. As for your transportation, I happen to know someone who specializes in moving specific…cargo from one place to another without being detected, but you’ll have to be careful in getting there. No doubt the word of the princess’s escape has reached these parts, so guards will be scouring every nook and cranny for her. But this woman is good, very good. She’s the best damn smuggler in the entire galaxy. I’ll have James take you to where she is.”

Kara furrowed her brow. “And how do you know exactly where she is right now?”

M’Gann smiled. “Let’s just say, I’m not the only one with an affinity for bars and cheap liquor.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------

It didn’t take that long for them to find the location the smuggler, whose name was Maggie Sawyer according to M’Gann, was hiding out at. Kara and Lena followed James into a dark, smoky cantina, making their way past tables of rough-looking aliens who were drinking hard liquor and playing all sorts of card games as a band played upbeat horns in the background.

“Are you sure we should trust this Maggie person?” Lena whispered to Kara. One of the aliens gave Kara a weird look, and Kara found herself moving closer to Lena and tugging the hood of her cloak down across her face.

“M’Gann trusts her,” Kara replied. “So I do.”

Lena set her lips in a thin line, but didn’t respond as James continued to lead them both towards a table in the back where a small woman and a blue-skinned alien were sitting.

“Mr. Olsen,” the woman greeted when her eyes landed on them. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Kara and Lena exchanged a glance. This must be Maggie. She wasn’t anything like what Kara had expected. For starters, she was a lot shorter than what Kara had pictured, but her lack of a height advantage was more than made up for by her overflowing confidence that seemed to be oozing out of her pores and in every move she made, whether it was taking a swig of her beer or shuffling a deck of cards. It was certainly enough to make Kara feel intimidated.

“Ms. M’orzz has another job for you,” James said, moving to the side so Maggie’s eyes fell on the two women, her eyes lighting up as if she had won a prize.

“So,” she said with a knowing smirk, “where do you two lovebirds wish to go?”

Kara furrowed her brow at Maggie’s words until she realized there was a strange weight in her hand. She looked down to see that she and Lena were holding hands, and the heat returned to her cheeks as they quickly disentangled their fingers. How long had they been holding hands? This earned a small chuckle from Maggie, so Kara tried to form a coherent explanation. “Oh, we’re not…we, uh…it’s not what it—”

“Kid, relax. I’m just messing with you,” Maggie teased. “But you had me fooled there for a second.”

“Me too,” the blue alien beside her piped up. “You two would make a pretty cute couple.”

Kara looked down as the heat rose in her cheeks, avoiding the look Lena was surely giving her. The alien let out a pained cry as Maggie told him to shut up; she must have kicked him in the shin or something. “You’ll have to forgive Brian here. He doesn’t think before he speaks.”

Brian waved timidly to them as Maggie took another sip of her drink. “Okay, back to business.” She turned towards James. “You got what I need?”

James tossed a bag of money onto the table before Maggie. “2,000 now, 2,000 when you get them to their destination.”

“M’Gann certainly knows the way to a girl’s heart,” Maggie said as she took a credit out of the bag and twirled it in between her fingers. Kara narrowed her eyes. How well did M’Gann know Maggie? “The two of you must be pretty important to warrant this kind of price. Who are you exactly?”

“Are you going to take the job or not?” James demanded, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Lena shot him a look; clearly, she didn’t like being referred to as just “a job.” Kara didn’t like it much either, but she knew the sooner they left, the safer Lena would be.

“You know,” Maggie said, a glint of something shining in her eyes. “The word around town is that the Emperor’s ward escaped last night with the help of a rogue Stormtrooper. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

The heat vanished from Kara’s face and was replaced by a chill that cut her to the bone. Beside her, she felt Lena do the same. There was something unnerving in the way Maggie was looking at them, as if she knew something that they didn’t. “No, of—of course not,” Kara responded, praying to Rao that the crack in her voice didn’t betray her.

Humming, Maggie turned her attention to James. “Of course I’ll take the job. Girl’s gotta eat, am I right? So where are we going on this little adventure of ours?”

Kara handed Maggie the piece of paper M’Gann had given her earlier, trying to keep her hand steady while she did it. “Earth in Sector 1.”

Maggie nodded slowly. “Haven’t been there in a while, so it’ll be nice to visit some old haunts. Brian, go pay our tab while I take our passengers to the ship.”

Brian did as he was told while Kara, Lena, and James followed Maggie out of the cantina.

“Still trust her?” Lena asked Kara in a hushed voice, but the suspicion in her tone was loud and clear. Kara watched as James moved up to keep pace with Maggie as the walkway narrowed while she followed behind with Lena, tugging their hoods down a little whenever they passed by someone or when someone gave them strange looks. Kara’s eyes and thoughts returned to Maggie. The woman was overly confident, sure, but that didn’t necessarily make her a threat, and M’Gann trusts her, and M’Gann’s trust is hard to come by. Kara’s heart ached at the thought of M’Gann, of their last hug back at Lost Stars when M’Gann promised to look out for Alex and Eliza. She didn’t even get to say goodbye to her adopted family, and despite her protests, M’Gann said that it would be better this way and that she will see them again once this is all over. Kara felt her throat get thick with emotion when she realized just how much she was leaving behind. Kara shrugged in response to Lena’s question as they came upon a makeshift hangar with several spaceships parked within, but the large one in the middle caught her eye.

“Ladies and gentleman,” Maggie said, gesturing exaggeratingly to the ship. “The Nightwing!”

Kara’s eyes widened at how grand the ship appeared, despite it looking old and run-down and in desperate need of a wash or two. Lena didn’t seem to be impressed by it whatsoever, and Kara stifled a grin when she asked Maggie if they were seriously taking this thing into space.

“Well, unless you’d rather walk to Earth, my ship is your best choice,” Maggie retorted. “She doesn’t look it, but she’s the fastest in the gal—wait a minute.” She stalked over towards the ship where two men were waiting. Kara gave Lena and James a confused look, which they reciprocated.

“Look, fellas, now is not really the best time to be paying visits,” Maggie told the men as Kara, Lena, and James walked towards them. “Tell Penguin that he’ll have his money by month’s end.”

“You said that last month, Sawyer,” the bigger man of the two said. “And Penguin ain’t the most patient type.”

“Well, he’s going to have to learn how to be as well as get a better name,” Maggie growled. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m late for a date.”

The bigger man held out a hand. “Not so fast. We aren’t leaving until you give us the money.”

Kara’s eyes went wide as Maggie pulled a pistol on the man and his partner. She threaded her fingers with Lena’s, the other woman giving Kara’s hand a tight squeeze as James moved closer to them in case something went wrong. Looks like something already did.

“Look, Butch,” Maggie spat, her tone as hard as steel. “You better get out of my way or this bullet is going to land somewhere you aren’t going to like.”

The man called Butch just laughed, a deep and throaty laugh that sent a chill down Kara’s spine. “I wouldn’t be making threats if I were you.”

The sound of several guns cocking behind them made Kara’s hair stand on end. James raised his hands slightly as Lena tightened her grip on her hand and shook her head at Kara to not turn around. Kara nodded, her heart hammering out a prayer that they would all make it out of this situation alive.

“Word on the street is the princess broke out of prison last night,” Butch said as he stepped forward slightly, his hulking figure towering over Maggie. “And here you are, sheltering someone who seems to look _exactly_ like the princess. Isn’t that a coincidence? Do you know how much the Emperor will pay for his little sister’s return?”

Kara’s eyes went wide as she felt Lena freeze up next to her. She moved slightly in front of Lena, her eyes never leaving Butch. If he so much as looked at her wrong, Kara would chuck him into space. Apparently, Maggie was thinking the same thing as she clenched her jaw and raised her pistol to Butch’s chest, her eyes as hard as Maaldorian rocks. “For the last time, _get out of my way_.”

Butch sighed but smiled menacingly. “Have it your way.”

Just before his goons could open fire, Brian came bursting onto the scene, and all the guns turned to point at him.

“Whoa, whoa! Don’t shoot!”

Everyone shared confused glances and Kara saw Maggie let out an annoyed huff. “I’m in the middle of something, Brian.”

“I—I see that,” Brian stammered. “It—it’s just that we’re about to have some more company.”

Maggie turned around partially. “What the hell do you mean by ‘more company’?”

The sound of thundering footsteps heading towards them seemed to answer her question, and Kara turned around to see the black uniforms of Cadmus soldiers come into view with their guns locked and loaded.

This day just kept getting better and better.

“Freeze!” one of the soldiers shouted. In one swift motion, the mobsters’ guns were now pointed at the Cadmus soldiers and vice versa, with Maggie still holding hers against Butch’s sternum.

“You are all under arrest for illegal possession of firearms,” the soldier stated. “Lay down your weapons.”

No one moved for what felt like hours. Kara could feel her power thrumming through her like a pod-racer, and she had to fight the urge to use it to get Lena out of here.

“You there! In the hoods!”

 _Uh-oh_.

“Turn around slowly.”

Kara turned to look at Lena. The woman’s eyes were wide with fear and the Kryptonian could hear her heart racing within her chest.

“I said turn around!” Kara heard a gun cock and a pair of footsteps approaching her, so she knew she had to do something and quick. She closed her eyes and made a fist with her free hand, praying to Rao for forgiveness, but before she could do anything, though, a gunshot sounded, followed by a grunt of pain and a loud thud hitting the ground.

And then chaos erupted.

Shots from either side were being fired, so Kara pushed Lena in front of her as they raced away from the shootout and towards the ship. Brian was sprinting there as well, opening the door and calling for them to get inside. Kara practically pushed Lena inside as laser blasts fired over their heads, just barely missing them, and Kara turned around and used her heat vision on some of the soldiers, knocking them down one by one. She scanned the area for Maggie and James, and found them both fighting mobsters and Cadmus soldiers respectively, with Maggie using her pistol and fists and James wearing some weird kind of armor she had never seen before. Kara’s heart leapt into her throat when she saw Maggie take a blast to the shoulder.

“Kara, what the hell are you doing?” Lena shouted. “Get inside!”

“You stay there! I’ll be right back!” Kara leapt down and went back into the fray, hitting the man who shot Maggie with her heat vision as she helped the woman stand. “Come on, we got to get back to the ship.” Maggie groaned as Kara led her back to the Nightwing, her eyes landing on James as several more soldiers came around the corner.

“James!”

“Go!” James yelled to her. “I’ll hold them off!”

Kara tried to protest, but James had already charged the soldiers, so she hurried back to the ship, lifting Maggie up and taking her to the cockpit where Brian and Lena were waiting.

“What the hell did you do to piss off those Cadmus fucks?” Maggie coughed as she sat in the pilot’s seat. Brian frantically pushed several buttons as a few beads of sweat started to form on his upper lip.

“We can talk about that later,” he said. “We need to get out of here right now before you bleed out. Why did you have to shoot first?”

“I didn't shoot first!” Maggie panted. “Punch it!”

With a push of a button and a pull of a lever, the Nightwing pushed off of the ground and flew away, but not before Kara saw a familiar face amongst the Cadmus crowd.

 _Alex_.

Judging from the look in her sister’s eyes, Alex had recognized her as well, and it took everything within Kara not to burst through the window to give her one last hug. All too soon, they went to lightspeed, and the planet was soon lightyears away, along with Alex, James, M’Gann, and everyone Kara had known and cared about. She turned to look at Lena, who was breathing heavily and slumped against her seat. Brian exhaled in relief and Maggie let out a laugh despite the obvious pain she was in.

“Next stop, Earth.”

\------------------------------------------------------------

Lex looked out at the view from his seat on the Death Star, millions upon millions of stars scattered out before him. He held a notice in his hand from his second in command, informing him that his sister had escaped on a ship that was heading to Earth in Sector-1 and that her rescuer was accompanying her. His lips curved up into a sinister smile.

“Miss Graves.” He turned to the woman standing beside him. “Send word to Reign and Overman telling them that their assistance is required. They have a new mission waiting for them on Earth.”

The woman nodded and immediately walked out of the room as Lex leaned back in his chair. “You can try to run, little sister,” Lex mused to himself. “But you can’t outrun me forever.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave a comment if you want!!
> 
> If you want, you can follow me at its-danigobingo-world.tumblr.com and we can cry about Supercorp together and be friends!


	5. Episode V: Earthbound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara, Lena, Maggie, and Brian make their way towards Earth in search of J'onn J'onnz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you not reading my other fics, I am planning on sticking to a regular updating schedule from here on in. I will be updating this particular fic every Friday unless something comes up, in which case I will notify y'all on Tumblr.
> 
> Thanks to Pirina/Kakashi-Chidori for reviewing this beforehand!

_After escaping Sector 38, the Nightwing makes its way to Earth in the hopes of finding J’onn J’onnz and the rest of the Rebellion there._

 

The next few hours upon the Nightwing were unexpectedly quiet, apart from the occasional swear from Maggie, but Kara found herself welcoming the quiet after everything that happened. She and Lena were in the common room with Maggie while Brian was piloting the ship, none of them saying anything to each other and keeping to themselves for the most part. Kara fiddled with the azure jewel on the end of her necklace, her thoughts wandering to her mother, to Eliza, M’Gann, James, and Winn. To Alex. The look on her sister’s face when they took off was going to stay with Kara for the rest of her journey; the hurt and confusion in Alex’s brown eyes made her throat close up. Alex had done nothing but protect Kara ever since she came to live with her and the Danvers’, and Kara couldn’t help but feel that she was repaying her by running away to Sector 1 to do Rao knows what. So many questions were running through her head: How long would they be staying there? Would Alex report them to the higher-ups at Cadmus and come looking for them? Was James okay? Kara didn’t see what happened to him as her attention was focused on Alex, so she prayed to whatever gods were listening that he was, and that Alex would forgive her for leaving. If— _when_ she got back and when this was all over, she would give Alex the biggest hug she’d ever given her and never let go.

Beside her, Lena was nursing a glass of whiskey and trying not to grimace with each sip. “Do you have anything better on this…ship of yours?” Lena pointedly asked.

Maggie let out a chuckle as she put the final touches on her stitches. “Sorry, princess, I would’ve stocked up on the finer stuff if I knew you were going to grace my copilot and I with your graces, so you and your Kryptonian friend there are gonna have to make do with that Rotillkon whiskey.”

Lena’s eyes went wide and Kara’s body froze, her fingers tightening around her necklace. This earned another laugh from Maggie. “Relax, you two. I know who you both were the minute you walked up to my table. It’s not everyday that M’Gann brings people for me to smuggle, and considering the rumors that had been circulating this morning, it wasn’t hard to put two and two together.” She took a seat at the table as she put her jacket back on. “Don’t worry, y’all got nothing to fear from me.”

“Yeah?” Lena countered, the look in her eyes as hard as stone. “And how do we know you haven’t taken a deal from one of my brother’s lackeys and using the Earth trip as a cover?”

Maggie raised an eyebrow at her. “M’Gann and I have been friends for a long time. She trusts me with keeping y’all safe and I don’t intend to break her trust today.”

“You’ll just take her money, though.”

“Hey,” Maggie leaned back in her chair. “Girl’s gotta make a living somehow. Not all of us were born with silver spoons in our mouths.”

Kara cut in before Lena could make a biting retort. “How long before we get to Earth?”

“Shouldn’t take that long,” Maggie replied, pouring herself a glass of whiskey and downing it in one gulp. Kara had really only seen Alex drink like that. She couldn’t help but think that in another life her sister and the pilot would get along. “A couple of days if we keep speed. Y’all should probably get some rest. I’ll show y’all to your beds.”

Maggie got up and led them down a hall and into a small room housing two beds and a small window with a view of the stars outside. “I’ll be in the cockpit if y’all need me,” Maggie said. “Try and get some sleep.” With that, the smuggler left them alone to get settled.

“I don’t know about you, but I could probably sleep the whole trip,” Kara said as she took off her hood and flopped down on the bed, sinking down into the downiness. She wondered what kind of products Maggie was paid to smuggle; must be important stuff if she was the best smuggler in the galaxy, at least she was according to M’Gann.

Lena, however, didn’t seem to have the same opinion. “I still don’t trust her.”

“Lena,” Kara started, “she saved our lives back there. She took a blast to the shoulder trying to get us off the planet.”

“She’s a smuggler, Kara,” Lena hissed. “Her allegiance is to the coin and whoever has the most of it.”

“And you’re the princess, so by your logic, your allegiance is to the Empire.” Kara glared at Lena. What was her problem with Maggie? She scoffed. “Besides, I think you’re just mad ‘cause she took a stab at your pride back there.”

Lena’s cheeks flushed a bright pink and her jaw clenched as she matched Kara’s glare, her emerald eyes burning hot with fire. “Goodnight, Kara.” With that, Lena climbed under the covers and lay down, her back facing Kara. The Kryptonian sighed. None of this could be easy for Lena, leaving everything she knew behind like that, but that didn’t give her the excuse to harp on Maggie, not after everything the pilot herself went through to save them. Letting out a loud breath, Kara decided to turn in, allowing herself to be enveloped in the darkness and was pulled into a deep sleep.

\----------------------------------------------------------

Kara awoke with a start some time later covered in a thin layer of cold sweat. Lena was fast asleep in the other bed, the brunette’s chest rising and falling in a rhythmic pattern. Kara exhaled, trying to calm her rapid heartbeat. Thirteen years of nightmares of fire and faces of the past and it hadn’t gotten any easier. Deciding that going back to sleep would be futile, Kara got up and headed to the common room, nearly jumping out of her skin when she saw Maggie and Brian sitting at the table eating bowls of grainmush. “Um, who’s piloting the ship?”

Maggie let out a laugh. “There’s this crazy contraption called _autopilot_. Very helpful for gigs like this.”

Kara’s cheeks flushed as Maggie laughed some more. “Hey, kid, I’m just messing with you. Want something to eat? It ain’t gourmet-fare, but it’s better than nothing.”

Kara’s stomach growled; she couldn’t remember the last time she ate, so she gladly sat down as Brian fixed her a bowl of grainmush. The substance was relatively tasteless, but it filled her up just the same. “Where did you get this stuff?”

“Rann before the civil wars,” Maggie answered, spooning another mouthful into her gullet. “It’s like honey, it lasts a lifetime.”

“Being a smuggler, I thought you would have more culinary options laying around here,” Kara observed.

“I wish,” Maggie replied. “But sadly, I can’t take any of the merchandise if I want to get paid fully. Is the princess still sleeping?”

Kara nodded. “How long have we been out?”

“A couple of hours. Still got some ways to go, though.”

The three of them sat in silence for a while before Kara spoke again. “How did you know Lena was the princess?”

“Easy,” Maggie answered. “The way she carried herself when she walked in. There was no way she was one of the common-folk. She had to be the daughter of some nobleman.”

“And how did you know I was Kryptonian?”

Maggie didn’t respond right away, instead swallowing the last of her grainmush as Brian stole glances between the two women. “I didn’t at first. Thought you were someone important to the princess, to be honest. But then I saw you fight Butch’s men and the Cadmus fucks with your…abilities. I’ve been to every corner of the galaxy, met every alien there is, and I’ve never seen any of them do what you do.”

Kara furrowed her brow. “That doesn’t necessarily mean I’m from Krypton.”

Maggie shrugged. “Lucky guess, then. Your reaction confirmed my suspicions. How did you get your powers anyway? Unless you’ve always had them.”

The blonde shook her head. “The planet’s yellow sun gave me these powers.” She held up her hands. “I don’t have them right now though, so you have nothing to worry about.”

“Oh please, honey, I bet you don’t have the heart for that,” Maggie said. “Besides, the planet we’re going to has a yellow sun as well, so you’ll get your powers back in no time.”

Kara hummed. It would be nice to have her powers back, even if she didn’t fully understand them. Maybe J’onn could help her when they found him. “Lena doesn’t seem to trust you.”

Maggie laughed. “Of course not. I don’t blame her, though. Why trust a lowly smuggler you’ve known for all but half a day?” She leaned forward, her eyes narrow. “Do you trust me?”

“I trust M’Gann,” Kara said.

Maggie smiled, two dimples forming on the side of her cheeks. “Good answer. Anyone who doesn’t trust M’Gann is a bone fide idiot.”

Kara chuckled along. Maybe Maggie wasn’t so bad after all. If only Lena could see that. Before Kara could give much thought to either one, the smaller woman pushed aside her bowl and pulled a deck of playing cards out of her pocket. “So, Kara—it’s Kara right? Do you gamble?”

\----------------------------------------------------------

The next three days passed by relatively quickly once Kara got a routine down. She spent most of her time hanging out with Maggie and Brian in the common room, eating and playing cards and listening to tales of their greatest smuggling adventures. Kara in turn told her about living with the Danvers’ and her friendship with M’Gann, and Maggie told her some stories about when she and M’Gann got in all sorts of trouble when they were younger, especially with J’onn.

“It’ll be fun to see him again, huh?” Kara quipped. She was in the cockpit with Maggie and Brian as they worked on flying the ship. Kara was quite impressed with the way they flew, knowing which buttons to press and which levers to pull at which time. Maggie told her that she had borrowed it off of another smuggler, but hadn’t had the heart to return it, so it’s been in her possession for the past three years.

“Aren’t you worried that smuggler will come looking for you?” Kara had asked.

“We try to stay clear of the planet he’s from,” Brian answered for her. “She owes him quite a bit.”

This earned him a kick to the shin from Maggie, but Kara’s curiosity was growing. “Is this the Penguin Butch was talking about?”

Maggie huffed. “If I say yes, will you drop this?”

And that had been the end of that conversation.

“I haven’t seen J’onn in ages,” Maggie said, bringing Kara back to their current conversation. “It’ll be nice to see him again.”

“We’ll be coming up on Earth soon,” Brian interjected. “We’re approaching its atmosphere.”

“Why don’t you go get your royal friend?” Maggie asked as she prepared for entry. “I love having an audience for this kind of stuff.”

Kara shook her head but laughed as she made her way back to her and Lena’s room. The princess had practically lived there for the past few days, only coming out during meal times. Guess her pride had been hurt more than Kara had thought. She entered the room to find Lena sitting on the edge of her bed looking out the window with a contemplative look on her face. “Lena?”

The princess let out a small shriek as she turned around to face Kara. “Oh, Kara. You scared me there for a minute. Are we there yet?”

“Uh, yeah, almost,” Kara answered. “We’re about to enter Earth’s atmosphere, actually.”

Lena nodded, the worried look never leaving her eyes. “Good, That’s good.”

Kara furrowed her brow. “Is something wrong? You’ve barely left this place since we boarded.”

“I know, it’s just…” Lena huffed. “I want to apologize to you.”

Kara chuckled. “I think you owe the apologies to Maggie. You haven’t exactly been the perfect house-guest, or ship-guest in our case.”

Lena gave Kara a pointed look. “I will later. But you’re here now, so I’m sorry.”

A crinkle formed in between Kara’s eyes as she sat down beside Lena. “Why are you sorry?”

“For dragging you along in this,” Lena explained as she looked down at her hands. “For making you a fugitive like me.”

Kara looked at Lena incredulously and fought the urge to smile. “Apology not accepted.”

“The hell do you mean ‘apology not accepted’? It’s my fault that you’re in this mess.”

“Hey, this is not your fault,” Kara said, placing her hand on Lena’s knee and squeezing it gently. “It was my choice to rescue you from that cell, and I would do it again if given the chance.”

Lena met Kara’s eyes, her own eyes shining with unshed tears. “Why though? Why would you risk everything, your life, your identity, for me?”

Kara swallowed nervously. The answer was obvious, to her at least: it was the right thing to do. But Kara now knew it was more than that, and Lena deserved to know. “I’ve lost a lot of people in my life, a lot of people that I’ve cared about, and I was powerless to do anything to stop it. When you were captured, I wasn’t going to sit around and do nothing. I wasn’t going to lose another person I cared about if I could help it.”

They both sat there for a while, Kara’s eyes searching Lena’s for any emotion. Eventually, Lena managed a small smile as a few tears ran down her cheeks. “You care about me?”

Kara nodded. “It’s quite impossible not to.”

The princess let out a breathy laugh. “Thank you,” she murmured. “Thank you for saving me.”

Kara returned her smile. “Of course.”

They sat like that for a few minutes before Maggie’s voice through the intercom startled them. “ _Hey, you two! Get up here, you’re gonna want to see this._ ”

After exchanging a humorous look, Kara and Lena headed back down to the cockpit, both of their jaws dropping when they saw the green and blue planet outside the window.

“Ladies and gentle-alien,” Maggie said, gesturing outside. “Welcome to Earth in Sector 1, or as I like to call it, Earth-1.”


	6. Episode VI: Earth Sector 1 - S.T.A.R. Labs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew arrives in Central City to meet their contact who will take them to J'onn. Kara and Lena meet the Rebellion's newest recruits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Sorry for the delay. I got hit with a depression episode on Thursday and it made it hard to get anything done. I'll be sticking with the update schedule from now on as best as I can, but I'm going to be taking the coming week off of writing to get my head on straight and regain my focus. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. :)
> 
> Also, thank you Pirina/Kakashi-Chidori for reviewing this beforehand. You are the absolute best.

_The Nightwing crew arrives on Earth-1 without a hitch. They arrive in Central City to meet their contact in order to find J’onn J’onnz and his recruits._

 

“Welcome to Earth-1.”

Kara stepped out of the Nightwing, the ground soft underneath her feet as the sun’s warm rays hit her skin. She smiled as she felt her strength return to her, the raw energy coursing through her veins and charging her like an ion battery. Kara hadn’t realized how powerless she had been aboard the Nightwing until now; it was like arriving at the Danvers’ for the first time all over again, with the discovery of her powers both exciting and frightening. Of course, Kara was more thrilled than scared now, but if she didn’t know any better, she thought she felt stronger on this planet than the other, and that made her a little nervous. Nevertheless, she and Lena were safe now, far out of the Emperor’s reach, and that was cause for relief.

“What are you smiling about?”

Kara turned to see Lena walking up behind her, her jade eyes and garnet lips sharp and intense despite her black hood covering her head, and Kara felt her heart pick up its pace. “I’m, uh, just glad we’re safe.” She gave Lena a big smile, smiling even wider when Lena did as well.

“Well, the longer we’re out here,” Maggie’s voice interjected as she and Brian joined them after locking up the ship, “the less safe we are. Come on, let’s go.”

Kara pulled up her own hood and the quartet made their way towards the city shining in the distance, Central City according to Maggie.

Central City was thrumming with life, Kara observed once they set foot inside, the people seeming to move in sync as they went from one place to the next. The energy reminded Kara of the downtown markets back on Mars, but where the buildings there were darker and the people more reserved, everything here was brighter and more cheerful. Colors popped everywhere Kara looked, vibrant reds and yellows leaping off the shops and carts lining the streets. The citizens of Central City, human and alien alike, seemed to be wearing variations of these colors, with the occasional white, blue, black, and purple thrown in there, as they milled around in a shared jovial mood for the most part, giving Kara friendly smiles when she walked past. Kara smiled back each time, earning a couple eye-rolls from Lena.

“You fit right in here,” she said.

Kara furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”

“Everyone here seems to smile as much as you do.”

Kara laughed. “Is that a bad thing?”

After a moment, Lena shook her head. “I’m just not used to people smiling this much, I guess.”

Kara’s own smile faltered. While there was still a lot she didn’t know about Lena, the things she did know were more than enough to break her heart. Ever since they met, Kara had wanted to get to know Lena better, and maybe now was their chance to. Rao knows how long they would be staying on this planet, what better way to pass the time than training and getting closer with each other? But before Kara could open her mouth, Lena stalked ahead to join the other two, her head hung low. Kara sighed, increasing her pace as well to rejoin the group.

They wove in and out of the streets with ease as Maggie and Brian led them into the heart of the city; Kara remembered Maggie saying she had been here before, and it was quite obvious that the pilot knew her way around town. They soon came across a quaint pub by the name of Jitters, and Kara’s first thought was that Lost Stars was an infinitely better bar name.

“What are we doing here?” Lena asked as they entered. Kara looked around. There was a small bar to her right hosting a small variety of lurid liquors on the back wall and several tall tables and rusty orange lounge chairs to her left. In one of the corners was a stage where a band was playing soothing music, the lead singer’s raspy vocals spitting out lyrics like honey. Maggie nodded her head and they followed her towards an empty brown booth in the back corner as Brian went to go fetch some drinks.

“We’re here to meet our contact,” Maggie replied as she sank into the booth.

“Contact?”

“James gave me her name back on Mars,” the pilot explained. “She’s the one who’ll be taking us to where J’onn’s hiding. Lucky for y’all, I know who she is, so this should go pretty smoothly.”

“Why doesn’t J’onn come and meet us himself?” Lena inquired, a sharp eyebrow raised. “And why are you coming with us?”

Maggie shrugged as Brian returned with four drinks. “I assume it’s Rebellion-related. And I’m coming to get the other half of my paycheck, princess.”

Lena huffed in annoyance while Kara chewed her bottom lip. Was J’onn in the same situation as her and Lena? How could that be when the Rebellion had been operating in the shadows for the past thirteen years, leaving no trace of their continual existence? Maybe J’onn didn’t want to draw too much attention to himself; he was recruiting new members after all. Kara took a large gulp of her drink and grimaced at the harsh flavor. “Ugh! What the hell is in this stuff?”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d wager pure sugar,” Maggie chuckled. “Why do you think everyone here seems so peppy?”

Kara coughed up a lung as Lena covered her mouth with her hand, trying her best to fight a smile. Brian profusely apologizes while Maggie takes a tiny sip of her equally sugary drink, her reaction much more muted than Kara’s. “You’ll get used to it, kid. Just take little sips.”

Kara nodded stiffly and did as Maggie instructed, her cheeks flushing a bright red from embarrassment. At least Lena got a laugh out of it. Several minutes of casual silence followed, with the occasional person or persons entering and exiting the pub. With each passing second, Kara felt herself begin to grow anxious, wondering if their contact was ever going to show. Lena seemed to share her sentiments as she tapped her foot incessantly. “Well, where is she?”

“Patience, princess, patience.” Maggie said softly as she and Brian worked a deck of cards. “I sent word out to her as soon as we landed. She’ll be here. In the meantime, why don’t you focus on fitting in? Not many people wear their hoods up indoors.”

Lena snorted and pulled her hood up further over her face so only her scowl was visible. Her eyes were trained on Kara, her gaze threatening to burn a hole in the blonde’s unbreakable skin, almost daring her to remove her hood. Kara looked back and forth between the princess and the pilot, both waiting for her to make a decision. Ultimately, Kara lowered her hood, earning a smile from Maggie and a deeper scowl from Lena, who turned her attention away from the table. Before Kara could say anything to her, however, the door opened and a dark-skinned woman walked in. She wore a purple jacket and her hair fell around her shoulders in thick curls, her brown eyes soft and wandering, which lit up when they landed on Kara’s booth.

“I was wondering if you were ever going to show,” Maggie said excitedly as she got up and embraced the woman, who chuckled warmly.

“Would you believe me if I said traffic was bad?”

“Ha! That’s always your excuse!”

The woman feigned a gasp. “It is not! How dare you?”

The two began to bicker as Kara, Lena, and Brian looked on, the first two in confusion and the last one in amusement. “Oh, don’t worry,” the alien said to the women. “Their reunions almost always start off like this.”

Lena groaned. “We don’t have time for reunions. We need to go find J’onn.”

“And we are.” Maggie and the woman seemed to have finished their “bickering” and were now facing the rest of the group. “Kara, Lena, this is Iris West. She’ll be the one to take us to J’onn.”

“Nice to meet you two,” Iris smiled. “Hey, Brian.”

“Hey, Iris.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting, but I’m ready to go if you are,” Iris said, turning to Kara and Lena. “I know J’onn’s anxious to see you both.”

Maggie downed the rest of her drink and slammed her glass on the table. “Then let’s not keep the man waiting. Lead the way.”

After paying, the five of them headed outside. The sun was beginning to dip below the skyline, the glowing orange bringing out the other colors the city offered. Iris led them into a back alley when no one was looking, taking them down several more dark streets as Maggie and Iris talked. Like with M’Gann, Kara wondered just how close they were. They continued like that until they came across an open area just outside the downtown area that hosted a large oval-shaped building with what appeared to be three towers jutting out of it. The building also appeared to be abandoned, its decrepit appearance making a strong case for the fact, but Iris beckoned them to follow her, and they quickly made their was across the field, not stopping until they were safely inside.

“Everyone will probably be in the basement,” Iris explained. “Follow me.”

They walked down a darkened hallway that looked just as run-down as the exterior, with its walls crumbling to pieces and wires splayed out all over the floor like multicolored intestines. Kara swallowed nervously. _What is this place?_ Apparently, Lena was thinking the same thing when she asked the question aloud.

“S.T.A.R. Labs,” Iris answered. “It used to be an Imperial testing facility, but was abandoned during the first of the riots. Now it’s a secret training facility for members of the Rebellion like me.”

“So, Iris,” Maggie interjected. “How long have you been part of this act?”

Iris rolled her eyes. “A couple of months. Barry convinced me to join when his friends did, and my brother joined soon after. We’re all J’onn has managed to recruit for now.”

“You said this was an Imperial testing facility,” Lena said. “Exactly what kind of testing took place here?”

Iris shrugged. “Honestly, I’m not a hundred percent sure. There were rumors years ago that aliens were being tested down here in secret, as well as a few humans.”

Kara’s insides turned to ice. “What kind of aliens?” she asked, taken aback by the sound of her own voice.

“All kinds.”

They all walked in silence for a bit as Kara stewed over Iris’s words. _All kinds_. The first riots happened when the previous Emperor, Lena’s father, was still in power, when Krypton was still in one piece and a few years away from annihilation, which left Kara with a crippling thought: did they experiment on Kryptonians here? Kara knew it was next to impossible with Krypton formerly being located in Sector 38, not Sector 1, but the nausea stayed in her stomach. Regardless of whether or not her people were victims here, others were, and her heart ached for them. Beside her, Lena had a vacant look on her face, her eyes staring ahead and her jaw tight. Her heartbeat was racing within her chest from what Kara heard, and she let out a silent breath. This was an Imperial building, and Lena is part of the Imperial family, so of course she would be feeling guilty about what her father had sanctioned. Kara reached out and took Lena’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Lena turned to meet Kara’s eyes, obviously startled by this gesture, so the blonde gave her a comforting smile. Much to Kara’s chagrin, Lena didn’t return the smile and removed her hand from the blonde’s, the latter’s heart sinking further down. So much for that.

The rest of the trip was made in silence as Iris led them down several flights of stairs and one last hallway before they came across an open chamber where a small group of people were chatting. “We’re here,” Iris announced, and the group ceased their conversation and turned to face them. Kara recognized J’onn immediately; for a former barkeep, he cut quite the imposing figure in his black outfit. Beside him were four people who looked to be about her age: a tall, lanky man with short hair who was wearing an absurd amount of red; a shorter, darker-skinned man with shoulder-length black hair and an outfit to match; a woman with striking red hair wearing an equally striking ice blue jacket; and a younger-looking man that shared similar features with Iris wearing lots of yellow.

“Kara,” J’onn greeted as he walked over and wrapped her up in a crushing embrace. “You’ve grown five feet since the last time I saw you.”

Kara laughed as she returned the hug. “It’s good to see you, too, J’onn.”

“And this must be Lena.”

The dark-haired woman’s eyes went wide as J’onn turned her attention towards her. “M’Gann told me all about you in her last message. It’s nice to finally put a face to a name.” He held out his hand to shake. Lena, confused by this gesture, tentatively accepted it.

“Welcome to the Rebellion, Lena,” J’onn said, his smile so warm and welcoming that Lena couldn’t help but smile back. Kara smiled as well. If J’onn knew Lena was the princess, he wasn’t saying anything, and Kara couldn’t help but think that was for their own safety, so she silently thanked J’onn.

“Maggie, Brian, thank you for bringing them to me,” he said to the pilot.

“Of course,” Maggie replied, bowing her head slightly, Brian doing the same.

“Allow me to introduce our newest recruits,” J’onn gestured to the group behind him. “This is Barry Allen, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, and Wally West. And you’ve already met the lovely Iris. Welcome to S.T.A.R. Labs. You’ll be safe here for the time being.”


	7. Episode VII: Meet the Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Very good,” J’onn said, nodding. “My team has as well, along with some…other tactics. Mr. Allen, shall we show our guests a demonstration?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Pirina/Kakashi-Chidori for reviewing this chapter. You're awesome!

_Kara and Lena get acquainted with the team J’onn has put together on Earth-1 and learn about the various abilities each member possesses._

_Meanwhile, Kara implores J’onn to teach her how to control her own abilities, learning some revealing things about her powers along the way…_

 

Kara and Lena spent the next couple of hours getting to know J’onn’s new team, learning how they came to be here at S.T.A.R. Labs and, more importantly, how they became members of the Rebellion. Barry is a Special Enforcement Officer who met J’onn while working on a case; Cisco and Caitlin actually used to work at S.T.A.R. Labs before it was turned into a testing facility as esteemed scientists in the areas of mechanical engineering and bio-engineering respectively; Iris is a holo-journalist and a very good one at that, while her little brother, Wally, is a tech specialist who can fix almost anything you put in front of him. Kara found all of them really fascinating and enjoyed getting to know them. Even Lena, who was initially quite reserved in meeting new people, got along quite well with Cisco, Caitlin, and Wally, while Kara found a kindred spirit in both Iris and Barry.

“These people are fascinating, J’onn,” Kara said once she and J’onn had a moment alone together. “How long have you been training them?”

“Since I managed to convince them to join,” J’onn chuckled. “It’s only been a couple of months, so I’m trying to get them in shape to join the ranks back home. Thankfully, they all seem to be fast learners.”

“What do you teach them?”

“Everything.”

Kara nodded, a thought popping into her head. “Can I train with them? With you?”

“I thought you had trained back home.”

“I did,” Kara answered, wondering how J’onn could’ve possibly known that. Maybe he assumed (correctly) that she and Lena already were since M’Gann was the one that sent them. “Well, we were until we came here, and I was hoping to resume it with you.”

J’onn cocked an eyebrow. “I have a feeling there’s more to this request than just you wanting to resume training.”

Kara folded her arms across her chest and looked down, knowing that J’onn was right. She had forgotten how perceptive he could be. “I have…abilities,” she said once she checked that no one was near enough to hear their conversation. “Like…the unusual, super kind.”

J’onn raised his eyebrows. “What can you do?”

“I can shoot lasers out of my eyes and lift things three times my size with little effort. J’onn, I’m _bulletproof_ and I can _fly_. I couldn’t do that on…”

Kara quickly caught herself, but it did not go unnoticed by J’onn. Thankfully, he didn’t press it further. “I’m guessing you want me to help you to control these abilities?”

Kara relaxed as she nodded vigorously. “That would be wonderful. That is, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course not, Kara,” J’onn chuckled. “I would be honored. My team will be training first thing tomorrow if you want to join us.”

“Do I have to show my powers?” Kara asked nervously.

“Only if you want to, child.”

Kara let out a breath of relief. “Thank you so much, J’onn. Can Lena join us too?”

“I don’t see why not.”

Kara beamed and J’onn smiled knowingly as they headed back to the main chamber to rejoin the rest of the group. Kara was glad to see Lena mingling with the rest of the group, smiling and laughing at the jokes Cisco was telling. Despite that, the princess seemed to relax tremendously when Kara returned to her side, and Kara found herself doing the same. They were both safe, far from the reach of the Emperor, and Kara was both ecstatic to be reunited with J’onn and relieved to finally begin to learn the extent of her powers. After talking some more and eating a good meal, it was time to turn in for the night, so J’onn had Cisco and Caitlin show the newcomers to their rooms.

“It’s so good to see J’onn again,” Kara said excitedly as she flopped onto her mattress. “I haven’t seen him in so long.”

Lena smiled as she climbed under the covers of her own bed. Her and Kara were sharing a room while Maggie and Brian took another; the pilot wanted to return to the safety of the Nightwing, but J’onn insisted that they all stay together now.

“The danger might not be immediate, but I don’t want to take any chances,” he had said. “Besides, this place is the safest in all of Central City. No one will think to look for you here.”

Kara had also told Lena about training with J’onn and her excitement about that, telling Lena that she could train with them, which she hesitantly accepted.

“How long has it been since you’ve seen him?” Lena asked.

“About five years, give or take.”

“Do you think he knows who you are?”

Kara furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”

“Who you truly are,” Lena amended. “Does he know you’re from Krypton?”

Kara paused, her and J’onn’s conversation from earlier replaying in her head. She had almost let it slip, but J’onn didn’t seem to notice. Still, there was something in the man’s eyes that he knew more than he was letting on. “I don’t know,” Kara said finally. “I mean, M’Gann didn’t know until we left, so I doubt that J’onn does.”

“Unless M’Gann told him,” Lena pointed out.

Kara shrugged. “I mean, I guess so, but he hasn’t said anything to me about it.”

Lena nodded, a dark expression covering her face. “We can’t stay here for too long.”

“What? Why not?”

“The longer we stay here, the higher the risk of everyone finding out who we are. Who _I_ am.”

“Lena,” Kara sighed. “You don’t have anything to worry about. Weren’t you just talking and laughing with them a few hours ago?”

“Doesn’t mean I’m not worried,” Lena retorted. “I like these people, I really do, and I think they like me. But what will happen when they find out that I’m related to the enemy? They’ll cast me out if they don’t dispose of me first.”

“Lena,” Kara sighed as she sat up and faced her friend. “They aren’t going to ‘dispose of you’. J’onn won’t let that happen. _I_ won’t let that happen.”

Lena scoffed. “Are you going to protect me with those ‘abilities’ of yours? Aren’t you worried about what will happen if they discover who _you_ are?”

Before Kara could come up with a retort, Lena turned away from her, her hair cascading over the pillows as her breaths eventually evened out. Sighing, Kara shook her head and followed suit. Sleep didn’t come as quickly for Kara as it apparently did for Lena, her excited nerves keeping her awake in anticipation for the approaching morning. Kara knew she would need to be on the top of her game tomorrow, so she willed herself to sleep, albeit unsuccessfully as her thoughts continued to drift to Lena. She was glad that they were both safe and out of harm’s way for the time being, but she couldn’t quite understand Lena’s mistrust of the Earth-1 team. She could understand her mistrust of Maggie since the pilot dealt in some shady stuff, but Kara had known J’onn for half of her life. There was no reason not to trust him. He was going to be training them, after all, as well as help Kara master her powers. She didn’t know how exactly he was going to do that, but she was relieved nonetheless. Kara exhaled heavily. _Give Lena time,_ she thought. Lena would soon see that there was nothing to fear from these individuals. When exhaustion finally managed to subdue her, Kara closed her eyes with a smile on her face, eagerly anticipating the new day and all that it will bring.

 

\-------------------

 

The next day came early for both Kara and Lena as they went to meet the Earth-1 crew in the S.T.A.R. Labs training room. Kara was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement while Lena was still rubbing her eyes, trying to shake off the last remnants of sleep.

“I think I prefer M’Gann’s methods better,” Lena grumbled. “At least with her, we trained at night.”

Kara laughed. “I think someone’s a little cranky.”

Lena turned and gave Kara an ice-cold glare. “Don’t push it, Kryptonian. I’m not in the mood.”

“You can take it out on me in training.”

“Yes, because going against the girl who is bulletproof and has super strength is such a good idea.”

Kara laughed again. “Come on, Lena. It’ll be fun.”

Lena raised her eyebrow. “You seem really blasé about these people potentially finding out who you are.”

Kara shrugged.

“At least you have nothing to worry about,” Lena murmured.

Kara’s face fell. “Hey.” She turned to face Lena fully and placed a hand on her shoulder. “You have nothing to worry about. Everything’s going to be okay.”

“How do you know that?”

Kara shook her head. “I don’t, but you can’t live your life in fear.” She takes a hold of Lena’s hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. “Especially in the middle of a rebellion. That kind of defeats the point.”

That managed to get a laugh out of Lena. “You are such a dork, Kara Danvers.”

Kara beamed. “What else would I be?”

Lena shook her head and rolled her eyes, causing Kara to laugh harder as they made their way through the facility. They entered the training lab to find everyone else waiting for them; even Maggie and Brian were there sitting next to Iris, the former clearly not wanting to be there as she was fighting to keep her eyes open. The rest of the group was in the center wearing similar outfits for training, and Kara suddenly felt underdressed in her shirt and jacket.

The room they were in was huge; Kara could fit her house five times in here. There were guns and several other weapons lining one of the walls, a control panel on the other, and what appeared to be a large circular chamber above them that connected to the door on the far side of the room. All in all, it was quite impressive.

“Ladies, welcome,” J’onn greeted. “We were beginning to wonder if you were going to show up.”

“Wasn’t going to miss this for the world, J’onn,” Kara said, earning another eye roll from Lena.

“Wonderful,” J’onn smiled. “Well then, let us get started. What has my niece taught you ladies back home?”

Kara told him that M’Gann taught them weapons training, covert operations, tactics, and mechanics.

“Very good,” J’onn said, nodding. “My team has as well, along with some…other tactics. Mr. Allen, shall we show our guests a demonstration?”

Barry smiled and nodded before moving to the center of the room, getting into a crouched position while everyone moved over to the side.

“Whenever you’re ready, Mr. Allen.”

Barry nodded and took off running, leaving a trail of lightning in his wake. Kara couldn’t believe her eyes as Barry ran at the speed of light in the tubes surrounding the room. Lena couldn’t either, her mouth agape and her eyes wide. “How is that even possible?” she asked, an air of reverence in her voice.

“A lot of things are possible in this world, Ms. Thorul,” J’onn said.

There were so many questions running through Kara’s head at the moment, but before she could ask one, J’onn gave a command and Cisco and Caitlin immediately took up positions on each side of the room. Cisco put on a pair of dark goggles, Caitlin’s hair turned snow white and her eyes turned ice blue, which caused Kara’s own eyes to widen considerably. Cisco held out his hand and created what Kara could only assume was some sort of portal while Caitlin created a wall of ice with just a wave of her hands.

“Alright, Mr. Allen!” J’onn shouted. “Now!”

In the blink of an eye, Barry sprinted back into the room and threw a powerful lightning bolt into the portal. Another portal opened up across the room and the lightning came out, hitting the wall of ice straight on and blasting the thing into several sharp shards. Kara and Lena stared at the scene completely dumbfounded, their expressions never changing when J’onn asked Wally to do the same thing.

“So,” J’onn said once the demonstrations were over. “What do you think?”

It took both women a while to find their voices as the events still mulled over in their minds. Maggie and Brian were also rendered speechless as Iris grinned, the rest of the team high-fiving each other on a job well done. Kara was completely stupefied. These people had powers; legit, honest-to-Rao _powers_ just like she did. Were they all aliens as well? Lena spoke first before Kara could ask that.

“That was absolutely incredible, Mr. J’onnz,” Lena said in a reverent tone. “How…how were they able to do that?”

“I’ll explain all of that later, Ms. Thorul,” J’onn replied. “But for now, let’s focus on training. I'm curious to see both of your abilities. Ms. West, if you please.”

Iris got up and went behind the control panel, pressing some buttons that revealed holograms of Stormtroopers stationed throughout the room, their guns pointed at the team.

“The first exercise today,” J’onn said, pulling out a metallic-looking vest. “Defeat as many Stormtroopers as you can before you get hit.” He tossed the vest to Kara, who clumsily caught it. “Ms. Danvers, why don’t you go first?”

Kara blinked in surprise as she held the vest in her hands. She didn’t need this vest, and judging by the looks on both Lena’s and J’onn’s faces, they knew she didn’t need this vest either. J’onn was giving her this in case she wasn’t ready to showcase her powers to the rest of the group yet, and truth was…she wasn’t. She wasn’t going to until she had better control over her powers, so she put the vest on and grabbed one of the pistols from the other side of the room.

“Ready when you are, Kara,” Iris said, her hand hovering slightly above the buttons.

Kara moved towards the center of the room, right in the middle of all the Stormtroopers, and nodded.

It was show time.

 

\------------------------

 

The session went by super smoothly, with the Earth-1 team being as equally wowed with Kara and Lena’s performance as they were with theirs. Kara moved fast—not as fast as Barry or Wally of course—and showed off her precision with a weapon while Lena did much of the same, as well as impress the team, particularly Iris, with her tech skills. Once J’onn was satisfied with the progress made, he called it a day and everyone went back to their respective rooms to get cleaned up and ready for dinner. Kara was incredibly thankful that they weren’t going to be eating grainmush and instead be eating Squallburgers, which were a specialty on Earth-1. Lena was less enthusiastic about dinner, wanting to stay in the comfort of her room, but after much convincing and pleading from Kara, the princess found herself sandwiched between the Kryptonian and Iris at one of the tables in the abandoned cafeteria with the rest of the group.

Most of dinner was spent exchanging stories, a majority of them from Maggie who regaled the Earth-1 team with rich tales of her smuggling adventures. During one of her stories, Kara noticed J’onn standing in the doorway. He inclined his head and walked away, so Kara excused herself and went to follow him.

“I don’t believe I asked you this when you arrived here,” J’onn said once Kara joined him in the hallway. “But how did you and Lena come to be here?”

Kara furrowed her brow. “I thought M’Gann told you.”

“She did,” J’onn said. “But I would like to hear your side.”

Kara nodded and told J’onn everything: how she met Lena, how she figured out about the Rebellion and how she joined it, how they both met Maggie and Brian, and how they came to Earth-1. She left out the parts about her rescuing Lena from the Palace, Lena being the Imperial Princess, and herself being Kryptonian for obvious reasons. Despite this, J’onn was giving her a look that made Kara’s palms sweat. “Is everything okay, J’onn?”

J’onn pursed his lips together and narrowed his eyes. “I’m just trying to figure out why you’re not telling me everything.”

Kara froze, her eyes widening to an absurd degree as her cheeks burned red. “I…uh…I…”

“Follow me, Kara.”

J’onn led Kara down the hall and into his chambers. Kara’s heart rate was going through the roof as she entered, wondering how J’onn could tell she was lying. Well, she wasn’t really lying, just omitting certain things. Nevertheless, she was still nervous about what J’onn was going to say to her as he sat down at his desk, still facing her.

“Have you ever heard of the Force, Kara?” J’onn asked.

Kara tentatively nodded, wondering where J’onn was going with this.

“And you are aware that there are some individuals that are…shall we say, Force-sensitive? Such as the Jedi Order?”

Kara nodded again. “What does that have to do with how Lena and I got here?”

J’onn smiled. “The reason a majority of my team has certain abilities is because they are Force-sensitive. I am as well, and so are you, Kara.”

Kara’s eyes widened. “W-what? How…how do you know this?”

J’onn put a finger to his temple and smiled. “I have the ability to read others’ minds,” he explained. “So I know that you were leaving some crucial parts of your story out, such as the real identities of yourself and Ms. Lena. Don’t worry.” He held up a hand before Kara could say anything. “You have nothing to fear from me or my team.”

“Does your team know?”

J’onn shook his head. “I am the only one who knows. The two of you are safe here for the time being. No harm shall come to you as long as you are in my care.”

Kara sat down on the bed as she took everything in. J’onn’s team was had the Force. J’onn himself had the Force. _She_ had the Force. How was this even possible? Were her powers a sign of that?

“Yes,” J’onn answered, even though Kara didn’t ask the question aloud. “Your powers are an extension of your connection with the Force.”

“I—I thought I got my powers from the sun.”

“The sun enhances those powers, yes, therefore making you one of the most powerful beings in the galaxy.”

 _Most powerful…_ Kara felt her throat go dry as those words hit her like a pod-racer. She looked down at her hands; these hands could crush steel and lift a Sandcrawler with no problem. What else were they capable of? What else was she capable of? If she was as powerful as J’onn said she was, maybe she didn’t want to know.

“Hey.” J’onn had moved in front of her and placed his hands atop hers. “I know you’re scared, and that’s okay, for now, at least. I will still train you personally, if you still want that.”

Kara vehemently nodded, tears beginning to form in her eyes. “Please. I—I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“Kara, you have nothing to worry about. Everything is okay.”

Without thinking, Kara lunged forward and captured J’onn in a bone-crushing hug. “Thank you, J’onn.”

J’onn reciprocated the hug and patted Kara on the back. “Of course, Kara. Now I believe you have a dinner to get back to.”

Kara laughed as she let go and they both stood up and walked towards the door.

“Meet me here tomorrow night after dinner,” J’onn said. “And bring Ms. Lena if she wants to come.”

Kara furrowed her brow before her eyes widened in realization. “Is…is Lena Force-sensitive too?”

“I believe so,” J’onn replied.

“But Lena doesn’t have any powers.”

“None that have shown yet,” J’onn countered. “But there is something about Ms. Lena that has me intrigued, and I want to find out what that is.”

Kara nodded as J’onn closed the door behind her, leaving her to walk alone with her thoughts back to the cafeteria. The rest of the group was still laughing at Maggie’s stories—apparently, she had plenty to tell—so no one had noticed her absence. Except for one.

“Where were you?” Lena asked as Kara sat back down.

Kara hesitated for a moment. She wanted to tell Lena everything that J’onn had told her, but she realized that this wasn’t the time or place to do so. “I’ll tell you later,” she said. “After dinner.”

Lena furrowed her brow and turned her attention back to Maggie. Kara tried to as well, but couldn’t concentrate. All she could think about was the look on Lena’s face when she told her what J’onn told her about them and the relief of knowing that they were truly safe here.

 

\------------------------

 

It was dark when they landed on Earth of Sector 1, the only sign of life being the lights of the city in the far distance. They had landed a few clicks away to avoid detection and suspicion, which was ideal for the task they were given. The door of the ship opened, revealing a duo: a man and a woman dressed in dark armor and masks. She exchanged a look with him and he gave her a nod underneath the mask he was wearing before making their way towards the city. They had never failed a mission yet, and they weren’t about to start now; they knew what they needed to do.

Find the Princess and her liberator and bring them back to the Palace to face justice.


	8. Episode VIII: Unexpected Visitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena scoffed. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”  
> “Yes!”  
> “Well, it doesn’t, because one way or another, they will find out and they’ll send me back to my brother if they don’t kill me first.”  
> Lena shoved past Kara and made her way towards the door, but Kara stepped in front of her. “Lena, you can’t go. Not yet.”  
> “Why not?” Lena fumed.   
> “Because you’re Force-sensitive too!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Pirina/Kakashi-Chidori for reviewing this.

Dinner wrapped up a little after ten, so everyone went back to their rooms to rest up for the training session tomorrow with full bellies and light hearts, except for one. Kara was practically shaking by the time she and Lena returned to their room as she wondered what the best approach to telling Lena what J’onn told her should be. She was still trying to wrap her head around it herself, so how was she going to tell Lena all of this? It didn’t help that Lena was incredibly perceptive.

“Kara? Is there anything bothering you? You seem upset.”

Kara looked up at Lena and her breath caught in her throat. Lena was sitting on the bed, looking all kinds of regal in a black silk robe with her hair falling down her shoulders like a dark waterfall save for the lone blonde streak just above her left eye. She looked absolutely beautiful, and it took Kara a while to remember what was bothering her in the first place. “I…uh…um…” Kara stammered as she ran a hand through her hair. “I have something to tell you.”

Lena shifted on the mattress as Kara sat down on her own. “J’onn has offered to train me privately.”

“Why is that?”

“He knows about my powers,” Kara slowly started. “And he knows I’m from Krypton.”

Lena’s eyes widened tremendously. “How does he know? I thought you didn’t tell him about all that.”

Kara winced. “Actually, I did tell him about the powers. The Krypton part he figured out for himself.”

“Kara,” Lena groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers. “Why would you tell him that? I told you we were keeping a low profile so this kind of thing wouldn’t happen!”

“I’ve had these powers since I was thirteen!” Kara countered. “I had to learn how to control them all on my own, and now that I have someone who will help me get better control of them, I’m not going to let that go. I trust J’onn with this, Lena.”

Lena rolled her eyes, stood up and walked towards the window with her hands on her hips. Kara ran a hand through her hair, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I know why I have these powers. I have the Force.”

Lena turned back around, her eyes wide with shock. “You have the Force?”

Kara nodded. “The planet’s yellow sun actually enhances my Force sensitivity, therefore my powers are enhanced as well.”

“That’s incredible,” Lena breathed in awe. “You’re quite powerful, then. Are…are the others like you as well?”

“You mean are they Force-sensitive? Yes,” Kara nodded. “As is J’onn.”

Lena blinked in surprise. “J’onn?”

“J’onn is Force-sensitive as well,” Kara explained, fiddling with her fingers nervously. “He can read minds. That’s how he knew I was from Krypton.”

Lena froze once the words left Kara’s mouth. “Then he knows…who I am.” She sat back down on the mattress, her body rigid and her eyes glued to the floor. Before Kara could ask if she was okay, Lena suddenly stood up and moved towards the end of the room where her bag was. “We have to leave as soon as possible.”

“What?”

“We have to go. Now!”

“Wait, wait, Lena! Slow down!” Kara held her hand up and grabbed Lena by the shoulder. “We can’t just up and leave.”

“We can and we are,” Lena bit back, shoving all of her belongings into her bag. “I don’t care where we go, we just can’t stay here.”

“J’onn’s the only one who knows who you are, Lena. No one else on the team does.”

Lena scoffed. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“Yes!”

“Well, it doesn’t, because one way or another, they will find out and they’ll send me back to my brother if they don’t kill me first.”

Lena shoved past Kara and made her way towards the door, but Kara stepped in front of her. “Lena, you can’t go. Not yet.”

“Why not?” Lena fumed.

“Because you’re Force-sensitive too!”

Both women stood there in stunned silence for a long while, staring at each other incredulously. Lena’s green eyes had grown wide again, this time in fear as what little color was there vanished from her face. “E-excuse me?”

“You’re Force-sensitive too,” Kara breathed, wondering what had Lena so spooked. “J’onn said you were. He—he said that you can train with me…if you want—”

“No.”

“No?”

“I’m not going to train with you.”

Kara furrowed her brow. “Why not?”

“I’m just not!” Lena snapped, letting out an annoyed huff. “Can we please just drop this, Kara?”

Before Kara could respond, Lena turned around and headed back to her side of the room, dumping her belongings next to her bed.

“Looks like you’re getting your wish,” Lena sneered before going under the covers and falling asleep.

Kara stared at Lena for a few solid minutes, trying to figure out the enigma that was the Imperial Princess. Sleep eluded her for hours once she decided to return to bed as Kara tried to decipher why Lena was afraid of having the Force. She knew that the Jedi Knights, or what was left of them, were once loyal to the Emperor, but they revolted after he had Zor-El killed. A few were still loyal to the Emperor, rebranding themselves as Sith Knights and were the Emperor’s personal guard. Lena would’ve had to have encountered them at some point during her life at the Palace. Maybe she was afraid of them, or what they have done. They did go against everything the Jedi Order stood for, after all. There had to be more to the story though, Kara thought, as she looked over at Lena’s sleeping figure. She wanted to help, but exhaustion overtook her before she could think of a proper way to.

 

\------------------------

 

Training the next morning was long and strenuous, with J’onn having them all run round after round until they worked seamlessly together against the Stormtrooper holograms. While the rest of their teams used their powers, Kara practiced incredible restraint, moving at what was hopefully a normal pace as she only used her blaster during the exercise. Lena was silent throughout the entire session, not even giving Kara a passing glance even when they were paired for one of the exercises. This caught the attention of J’onn and he brought it up during Kara’s private session later that evening.

“I told Lena everything,” Kara explained as she sat down in the training room. “I thought she would be excited about having the Force, but she seemed rather spooked it all and I don’t know why.”

“Learning that you have extraordinary abilities can be a lot to take in,” J’onn said, taking a seat next to her. “Give her time. I believe she’ll come around.”

Kara scoffed. “You don’t know her like I do, J’onn. She can be pretty stubborn.”

“I have no doubt,” J’onn chuckled.

“Do you know what’s bothering her?” Kara asked, turning slightly towards her mentor. “Like, can you read her mind or something so I know how to help her?”

J’onn smiled at her. “You have a good heart, Kara. Always wanting to help. But I’m afraid I cannot divulge that information. Miss Luthor will have to open up to you on her own.”

Kara nodded, her shoulders deflating significantly. J’onn noticed this and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze.

“Shall we get started?” he asked. Kara nodded and they both stood up and moved to the center of the room. “Which ability do you need help mastering the most?”

“All of them,” Kara joked, closing her mouth sheepishly when J’onn didn’t laugh.

“Can I ask you a question, Kara?” J’onn inquired. “Why do you need me to teach you since you apparently have control over your powers?”

That was a good question. In fact, that’s exactly what she told Lena last night. “Did you listen in on my conversation with Lena last night, J’onn?”

“I did not, but your thoughts have been quite loud since then, my dear.”

 _Oh._ Kara cleared her throat. “Ever since I came to live with the Danvers, I’ve had these powers, and I’ve gotten fairly good at controlling them. However, I’m scared that one day I’ll lose control and hurt someone I care about, and now that I’m apparently one of the most powerful beings in the universe according to you, I'm even more terrified of that happening.”

J’onn nodded in understanding once Kara finished her rambling. “Tell me about how you broke in to the Palace and managed to escape a legion of Imperial soldiers.”

Kara spluttered a bit before remembering herself and recounting the events of that night: how she snuck onto the base and disguised herself as a Stormtrooper, broke into the Palace, and managed to blast her way through a unit of Stormtroopers with her heat vision.

“Impressive,” J’onn said once she finished. “Why don’t we start with your heat vision? It seems to be one of the powers you use the most.”

Kara nodded and took up position in the center of the room while J’onn went into the adjacent room, bringing out a dummy donned in old, damaged Stormtrooper armor.

“Okay,” J’onn said as he fixated the dummy directly across from Kara, pointing to its chest. “I want you to hit this fellow right here with your heat vision. I want to see what you can do.”

Kara readied herself, taking a deep breath as she felt the power course through her body up to her eyes like a river of magma, turning her eyes a bright orange color until bright beams shot out of them both, torching the already banged-up dummy and blasting the armor to smithereens. The sight brought her back to that night at the Palace once more, where she did the same thing to living Stormtroopers. Kara stumbled back in shock when she realized that she must’ve killed some of them, her breaths getting shorter and shorter as her heart hammered faster against her sternum.

_I killed them. I killed them. I killed them._

“Kara.” J’onn’s voice broke through her panic-induced state, her eyes finding his soft brown ones as she gripped his forearms. “Look at me, Kara.”

“I killed…I killed them,” Kara stammered, the back of her eyes burning. “ _I killed them! I’m a murderer!_ ”

“Kara, Kara, listen to me. You are not a murderer. You saved your friend from a terrible fate.” J’onn cupped Kara’s face with his hands. “You saved Lena’s life, as well as protected your own. You are _not_ a murderer.”

Kara closed her eyes as she tried to control her breathing. She was on the verge of tears when the image of Lena came into her head, the princess’s sweet smile and kind green eyes calming Kara down significantly. She did save Lena; that was all that mattered. She saved Lena. She saved Lena. Kara focused on that image until her heart resumed its normal pace.

“Are you okay?” J’onn asked.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Thank you.”

J’onn nodded, giving Kara a reassuring pat on her back. “Do you want to continue?”

Kara nodded as she stood back up. “Can you teach me how to… _not_ kill people with my heat vision?”

J’onn smiled. “I believe we can manage that.”

 

\-------------------

 

Kara returned to her room much later that night, completely worn out from her training session with J’onn. The entire night was dedicated to helping Kara control the intensity of her heat vision, and they succeeded to some extent once Kara was able to focus better. Of course, that meant now she had a massive headache and was dying to crawl into bed and sleep until the new year. Lena was sound asleep when she entered, her chest rising and falling rhythmically. Kara tried to be as quiet as she could as she went to wash her face and change into her nightwear. Gods, did her head hurt. Her eyes did usually burn a little after using her heat vision, but never to this extent. In that moment, she was quite jealous of Barry and Wally, for they only had to worry about moving fast while Kara now had to fight off migraines. Some power she had.

After drying off her cheeks, Kara snuck back over to her bed, her face hitting the pillow with a thud as sleep took her instantly.

It wasn’t long until a loud crash awoke her from her slumber, and for a minute, she was grateful. Not only was she dreaming of Krypton’s destruction—again—but this time, her heat vision came into play. She was defending Kal and her mother from the invaders, only for her to lose control and kill them with it; it was horrible, and Kara wished that she never had to see that again, even if it was just a dream. Another crash sounded off, and Kara was now on high alert. It sounded like it came from the other side of the building; looks like Kara could add super-hearing to the list of her growing powers. She looked over at Lena, who is still asleep, before carefully getting out of bed and exiting their room. No one else was up from the looks of it, so Kara decided to check out the strange noise herself, flying all the way to other side of the building to investigate. She lands in what appears to be a large loading dock area, the ceilings high and the area incredibly spacious despite all of the containers scattered about. Kara stepped forward tentatively, using her hearing to guide her way, until a dark figure stepped out of the shadows and pointed a weapon at her. Acting on instinct and remembering what J’onn taught her only a few hours ago, Kara activated her heat vision and quickly disarmed her would-be assailant. The person cried out in pain as their gun went flying through the air, and Kara’s heart nearly stopped. She would recognize that voice anywhere. Her eyes widened in realization as the person came more into view, a figure clad in black with short red hair.

“Alex?”


	9. Episode IX: No Longer Safe Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone around them was moving in the opposite direction, sprinting away from something in horror. 
> 
> Lena moved closer to Kara and Alex pulled out her gun, ready for action. Kara looked through the crowed to see two dark, masked figures walking towards them, both bearing the symbol of the Emperor on their chests. 
> 
> One of them, the woman, had a weapon: a large sword that resembled a spear more than anything that she pointed directly at Lena. The two moved quicker towards them, and Kara pushed Lena further behind her as Alex froze, the agent’s eyes widening significantly. “Run! Go! Run!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Pirina/Kakashi-Chidori and fishingwild for reviewing this beforehand!

_The arrival of reluctant Cadmus agent Alex Danvers spells relief for Kara, but trouble for Lena. Meanwhile, Emperor Lex’s bounty hunters are getting closer to apprehending the princess and the rogue Kryptonian…_

 

“Alex!”

Kara ran forward and wrapped her sister up in a tight embrace. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you, idiot,” Alex said, wincing slightly as Kara squeezed her tighter. “Kara, I can’t breathe.”

“Oh sorry!” Kara stepped back slightly, her hands still on Alex’s shoulders. “You have no idea how glad I am to see you! How did you find me?”

“We can talk once I get my hand looked at. Thanks for that, by the way.”

Kara grimaced sheepishly. “Sorry about that. I didn’t know who you were!”

“You can see in the dark, Kara, how could you not tell it was me?”

“I’m tired!”

Alex sighed. “Can we find something to put on my hand? I’m pretty sure you burnt a layer of skin off.”

“I can use my freeze breath,” Kara offered, but Alex laughed and shook her head.

“Remember the last time you tried to use your freeze breath? Mom couldn’t feel her hand for two weeks.”

“Yeah…” Kara grimaced again. “Let’s go find some bandages.”

Kara led Alex back through the dark halls of S.T.A.R. Labs until they arrived at the main control room. Kara left Alex there to hold her injured hand as she searched the adjacent room for medical supplies and not exactly being subtle.

“Will you keep it down?” Alex whispered harshly in Kara’s direction. “Do you want to draw unwanted attention to us?”

“Everyone’s asleep,” Kara argued, searching several cabinets and drawers for what she was looking for. “We’ll be fine. They should be here somewhere…aha!” She finally found some usable bandages and walked back into the room. “Found some!”

Alex rolled her eyes as Kara began to work. “So what are you doing here, Alex?” Kara asked.

“I’m here for you,” Alex said as if were the most obvious thing. “You think I was just going to sit back and watch you be kidnapped by space pirates?”

Kara furrowed her brow. “I wasn’t kidnapped. And Maggie’s not a space pirate.”

“Then what, pray tell, were you doing on this so-called Maggie’s ship?”

Kara avoided Alex’s piercing gaze as she wrapped up her sister’s hand. “It’s kind of a long story.”

“Well, you can tell me all about it on the way back.”

“What?”

“We’re leaving, Kara,” Alex said matter-of-factly. “As soon as you’re done fixing my hand, I’m taking you back home.”

Kara finally looked up and met her sister’s eyes. “But…I can’t leave, Alex. Not yet.”

“What do you mean ‘not yet’?” Alex inquired. “We aren’t arguing about this, Kara. We’re going home, and that’s final.”

Kara opened her mouth to protest, to tell Alex that she needs to finish her training, but she heard the sounds of several footsteps coming down the hall and she froze.

“Kara?”

Both Kara and Alex looked up to see Barry, Caitlin, and Iris standing in the entryway, wearing their nightwear and confused expressions on their faces. “Hey, guys!” Kara enthusiastically greeted, but that wasn’t enough to quell Barry’s suspicions.

“Kara, were you making all that noise?” Barry asked. “And who’s that?”

“This is my sister, Alex.” Kara replied. “And yeah, sorry. I was looking for bandages for her. She’s injured.”

Caitlin immediately stepped forward. “What happened?”

Kara opened her mouth before closing it, realizing she didn’t have a good explanation. No one other than J’onn, Lena, and Alex knew about her true nature. But luckily, Alex spoke for her. “I got a cut. It’s not big deal.”

“Let me see it.”

Caitlin moved forward and knelt in front of Alex, picked up her hand and examined her wound. “How did you get this?”

“And how did you get in here?” Iris asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest, Barry doing the same. Kara and Alex exchanged a look; neither of them had a plausible answer for either of those questions. Before either of them could come up with anything, however, Maggie and Brian entered the control room. Maggie’s eyes widened when she saw Alex and immediately drew her weapon on her.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Alex pulled out hers and Caitlin backed away. “I could ask you the same.”

“I saw you,” Maggie accused. “Back at the cantina when you and your men shot at my ship. You’re with Cadmus.”

All of the air went out of the room then as Barry’s expression changed from confused to angry and Caitlin’s hair turned snow white, and Kara sprung into action. “Guys, wait!” she exclaimed as she moved in front of her sister, raising her hands up in front of her body. “She’s not going to hurt you! Maggie, put your gun down.”

The smuggler laughed. “Not a chance, blondie. Not until she explains what she’s doing here.”

“She’s here for me,” Kara exclaimed. “She’s come to take me home. She’s my—”

Before Kara could say anything more, Barry began to race towards her at break-neck speed, but Kara saw it all play out in slow motion. Barry’s face was contorted with hatred, his lips curled up to reveal gnashed teeth, and his eyes were glowing yellow like the lightning bolts rolling off of his body; everyone around them was frozen in place. Kara watched as Barry stepped closer and closer to her, realizing that he was aiming to get to Alex, so she acted. She caught Barry and threw him back against the wall, causing him to crumple to the ground like a paper doll. He groaned and looked up at her, a look of shock in his eyes that was shared by Iris, Caitlin, Brian, and Maggie. Kara felt the power thrum within her as her anger grew, her eyes glowing with white-hot intensity.

“The next person to try and hurt my sister will have to answer to me,” Kara warned, and everyone backed up against the wall in fear. Maggie quickly holstered her gun and Brian cowered behind her; Caitlin’s hair returned to its normal color and Barry moved to protect Iris.

“What are you?” he asked.

“What’s going on here?”

J’onn stood in the doorway, his brow creased and his arms crossed in front of his chest; Cisco and Wally stood by his sides. Behind them stood Lena, whose green eyes were etched with the last remnants of sleep. Kara froze when the princess’s eyes met her own and she immediately powered down, breathing heavily as Alex gently grabbed her arm. “I’m sorry, J’onn.”

“Kara,” J’onn said not unkindly, taking a step towards her. “What happened?”

The Kryptonian went into a quick spiel about who Alex was and why she was here, revealing whom Kara herself really was as well. She didn’t give away Lena’s identity, and the princess relaxed slightly, giving Kara a small thankful nod. All the while, Kara didn’t notice the way Alex was looking at Lena. When Kara finished her story, the room was silent for several moments, and Kara could hear everyone’s heartbeat in the stillness, which didn’t help her mounting anxiety. “Please,” she begged. “Alex doesn’t mean any harm. She just wants to take me home.”

J’onn nodded slightly, his expression remaining solemn. Kara realized he was probably reading Alex’s mind to see if Kara was telling the truth, and Kara didn’t know whether she should be relieved or offended. “Alright,” he said after a while. “Miss Snow, would you see to Miss Danvers’s injuries? I’ll have Mr. Ramon and Mr. West prepare a room for our unexpected guest.”

“She can stay with me,” Kara blurted out. “If that’s okay with you, J’onn.”

J’onn nodded again. “Of course.”

With that, he turned and left the room, Barry and Iris following suit after J’onn made Barry apologize for his behavior.

“This is going to sting a little,” Caitlin said, ice coming out of her hand when she touched Alex, who winced upon contact.

“How the hell are you doing that?” Alex asked through gritted teeth.

“I’m a doctor on the side,” Caitlin said. “There. All good.”

She let go of Alex’s hand, and Alex gawked at it. Her hand was completely healed; there was no scar or anything. Even Kara was shocked. She had seen Caitlin use her cryo-powers in action, but nothing like this.

“Okay, how the hell did you do that?” Alex demanded, but Caitlin just smiled.

“I told you. I’m a doctor. Come on, we’ll be late for dinner.”

With that, Caitlin turned and walked out of the room; Alex and Kara exchanged a glance before following suit. After eating a quick meal and getting a change of clothes for Alex, she and Kara decide to retire to the latter’s room for the night. Alex was silent the entire walk back, and Kara knew that once they were behind closed doors, a barrage of questions would erupt from her sister’s lips.

And sure enough, that’s exactly what happened.

“You want to tell me what you’re doing on Earth-1?” Alex demanded, all but slamming the door behind her. Lena was sitting on her bed, her head snapping up at the sudden commotion. She shot Kara a glare, and Kara sighed, giving her an apologetic look as Alex continued. “And what the hell is the Imperial Princess doing with you?”

Both Kara and Lena’s eyes widened with shock, and Kara felt her heart launch into her throat. “How…how do you know who she is?”

“I’ve seen her at the Palace before,” Alex explained as she lightly shrugged.

Kara gaped. “You’ve been to the palace?”

“I’m part of the Emperor’s secret police. Of course I’ve been to the Palace,” Alex scoffed. “They’ve been looking for her for a long time, did you know that?”

“You will address me personally when talking about me, Agent Danvers.” Lena ordered coolly, standing up to face Alex directly. “Are your orders to bring me in if you find me?”

“Those are part of my orders, yes. Nice blonde streak, by the way.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Kara moved to stand in between her sister and her friend. Was Lena her friend? Is it right to call her that? “No one is taking anyone in today.”

“I am,” Alex said. “I’m taking the both of you home with me tomorrow.”

Kara clenched her jaw, not wanting to argue for the next several hours. Lena must’ve felt the same way as she returned to her spot on her bed. “Have you seen Jeremiah?” Kara asked.

Alex’s jaw clenched and she shook her head. “No.”

Kara’s heart ached for Alex. Neither of the sisters hadn’t seen Jeremiah since Cadmus came knocking ten years ago; all they could assume was that he was somewhere in the bowels of the Palace, doing Rao-knows-what there, and Kara couldn’t help but feel guilty. She was part of the reason that Alex joined Cadmus in the first place; nevertheless, Kara was thankful that Alex was at least allowed to come home at the end of the day. “I’m sorry.”

“That wasn’t your fault,” Alex said. “But what is your fault is revealing who you are to those people out there!” She pointed at Lena. “Does she know?”

“Of course I know!” Lena exclaimed. “She put quite a few holes in some Stormtroopers when she _foolishly_ risked her life to save mine.”

“ _You what?_ ”

Kara inwardly groaned, shooting Lena a deathly glare. “We’ll talk about that later. As for tonight, it was bound to happen sooner or later.”

“The hell do you mean by that?”

Kara sighed, ignoring the warning look from Lena. She couldn’t lie to Alex. “Almost all of them have powers, including J’onn. He offered to train me, actually.”

Alex blinked in surprise. The room is silent for several minutes, Lena shaking her head in annoyance as Kara placed her hands on her hips. “In fact, he was training me before I found you snooping around,” Kara said, prompting Alex to give her a look.

“Why is he even training you in the first place?” she inquired. “You already have amazing control over your powers, at least from what I’ve seen.”

Kara was silent for the next few minutes, going over several responses in her head, but none of them sounding quite right. Nevertheless, she decided to bite the bullet and tell Alex the straight truth. “I am Force-sensitive. That’s why I have these powers and that’s why everyone out there has powers too.”

Alex is shocked silent, her jaw on the floor as she tried to comprehend what Kara just told her, failing to come up with a coherent response. Kara sat on the bed next to Alex, threading her fingers together nervously; she didn’t know what else to say. How exactly do you follow that up? Thankfully, she didn’t have to find out because Lena spoke up.

“How exactly did you find us, Agent Danvers?”

Alex shifted in her seat and ran a hand through her hair. Kara turned to face her; she was curious as well. “When I saw Kara aboard that ship, I knew I had to be the first one to find you. We had captured the man that was with the both of you and questioned him, but he wouldn’t budge. I couldn’t wait any longer, so I went to him one night in secret, begging him to tell me where you went. I told him that you were my sister, but he didn’t believe me, not until I showed him a picture of us.” Alex turned to face Kara. “I was so scared. I…I didn’t know what I would do if I lost you. So in exchange for his help, I helped him escape. He told me you were heading to Earth-1, so I hijacked a Cadmus pod and tracked you down once I got here.”

Kara’s heart swelled with admiration for her sister. “I’m sorry for making you worry.”

Alex smiled slightly. “Just try not to do it again, okay?”

Kara laughed and wrapped Alex up in a hug, which the agent reciprocated. “I’m really glad you’re here.”

“Well, we’re going home tomorrow, so we won’t be here much longer.”

Lena scoffed. “Speak for yourself, Agent Danvers.”

Alex sighed. “I’m sorry, Princess, but I have my orders.”

“From whom?”

“From the Emperor.”

Lena’s jaw clenched and Kara’s heart stopped. The Emperor. Of course, her orders came from the Emperor himself. He wanted Lena back, but Kara wasn’t going to let that happen. “Alex, you…you can’t.”

“Kara.” Alex rubbed her temples with her fingers exasperatedly. “I can’t disobey direct orders.”

Kara spluttered. “You stole a pod! You helped James escape! I think you already have disobeyed direct orders!”

“Kara.”

“Don’t ‘Kara’ me, Alex! Lena isn’t going back to the Palace. I won’t let you take her back there.”

“Kara, I don’t think you understand the brevity of this situation,” Alex said. “The both of you are fugitives of the Empire. You’re lucky I’m not turning _you_ in.”

“So I don’t get a pass because I’m not family?” Lena demanded, her eyes burning with bright green fire.

Alex groaned. “Forgive me, Princess, but I’m not arguing this matter with either of you. We’re heading back to our planet tomorrow whether you like it or not.” With that, Alex went into the washroom to get ready for bed, leaving a frustrated Lena and Kara in her wake.

“I’m sorry about her,” Kara said. “She’s not usually like this.”

Lena waved away her apology. “It was bound to happen sooner or later.”

“She won’t take you back. I won’t let her.”

“Kara, she’s your sister. And I’m just…a stranger to you.”

Kara furrowed her brow. “You honestly think that after all this time and what we’ve been through that we’re still nothing more than strangers? Lena, I consider you to be a friend, and a very good one at that.”

“Kara.”

“I’m serious!” Kara proclaimed, smiling. “You’re very important to me and I don’t give up on my friends.”

Lena gave her a watery smile. “I’m not worth all that.”

A frown replaced the smile on Kara’s face, and she went over and took Lena’s hands in her own. “You are worth that and so much more.”

A few tears escaped Lena’s eyes, and it took everything within Kara not to wipe them from her cheeks. “Thank you, Kara. The galaxy needs more people like you.”

Kara blushed. “I’m just being honest.”

That elicited a laugh from the Princess. “Would it be alright if I gave you a hug?”

“I think I should be asking you that, Princess.”

Lena playfully raised an eyebrow. “I thought we were past all that, _friend_.”

Kara looked down sheepishly, but couldn’t contain her smile as Lena pulled her in for a hug. Kara savored the hug, holding Lena tight to tell her that she was here and wasn’t going anywhere. She would _never_ go anywhere. The hug only lasted a few seconds as Lena pulled back, a sweet smile on her face. “You’re so strong,” she said. “Yet so gentle. Never lose that quality, Kara Danvers.”

Kara returned the smile. “I’ll do my best, Lena Luthor.”

“We should probably get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow.”

Kara grimaced. “Yeah.”

With that, they both crawled into their respective beds just as Alex walked out and crawled into hers.

“Goodnight everyone,” Kara said.

“Goodnight, Kara.”

“Goodnight. Sleep well.”

 

\-----------------------------

 

It was still quite dark when Kara woke next. Alex was still sleeping on the extra mattress Cisco and Wally found, her heart rate steady as the blankets rose and fell with each breath. Kara lay back down, still groggy from sleep, until she realized the room was short one heartbeat. She shot back up and glanced over at Lena’s bed: the sheets were overturned and the princess was nowhere to be seen. Kara’s heart practically stopped.

Where was Lena?

Kara threw her own covers off and went into the hallway as quietly as she could so she wouldn’t disturb Alex, listening for the princess’s heartbeat intently; after a few moments of listening, she tracked it down to the other side of the building. Kara entered the training room and found Lena wailing on a dummy, her hair up in a ponytail and her brow furrowed in concentration. Kara watched as Lena practiced several calculated and well-executed moves on the dummy; there was no doubt in her mind that Lena was a skilled fighter, but there was something else behind the punches and jabs: frustration, maybe even anger. Lena had been through so much no only in the past few weeks, but throughout her whole life, and Kara wanted nothing more than to offer comfort to her. Once the fighting was done, they would finally rest in peace, but for now, they had to be ready for war.

“Are you going to stand there gawking all night or are you going to say something?”

Kara jumped at the sound of Lena’s voice. The princess had ceased her assault on the dummy and was looking at her with a mix of confusion and amusement, and Kara felt the color rising in her cheeks. “I…uh…”

“You’re cute when you’re flustered,” Lena whispered, but Kara’s ears caught it, and she blushed harder. “What brings you down here during this late hour?”

It took a few seconds for Kara to find her voice. “I—I could ask you the same thing, Princess.”

“I believe I asked you first, Kara.”

Kara was sure she was beet-red now. “You weren’t in in your bed, so I came to find you and…now I found you.”

“Did you have another nightmare?”

Kara froze, sucking in a breath as she tries to avoid the look Lena’s giving her. “I…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Kara.” Lena’s voice was soft and filled with empathy, and it almost made Kara break down in tears. “I know. Your screams have woken me up every night since before we got here. I want to comfort you, but I don't know how, I…I don’t think I’m the right person to.”

Kara remained silent as Lena huffed, crossing her arms across her chest. “I’m sorry. This is a personal matter for you and we barely know each other, so I will drop this. I’m sorry.”

Lena moved to walk out, but Kara reached out and stopped her. “Lena, wait. It’s okay.”

“No, it isn’t. I shouldn’t have prodded. This…this is something you confide in with a friend.”

Kara furrowed her brow. “I thought we established earlier today that we were friends.”

Now it was Lena’s turn to blush. “You know what I mean, Kara.”

“No, I don’t think I do. Tell you what. How about before we return to the solace of our room, we sit down and get to know each other a little better?”

Lena raised an eyebrow, and Kara’s heart skipped a beat. “Why?”

“You’re my friend, Lena, and I want to get to know you better.”

“You heard your sister. I’m going back to the Palace tomorrow, so we won’t be seeing each other again.”

“Hey.” Kara pulled Lena closer, lightly squeezing her arm. “I told you I wasn’t going to let that happen. Besides, what’s the harm in getting to know each other?”

They stared at each other for a while, Lena’s eyes as sharp as jades and Kara did her best to hold her own against them. The princess knew how to throw a look; that was for sure. Eventually, Lena inclined her head and had Kara lead her to the side of the room. They sat down, Kara’s hand still wrapped around Lena’s forearm, but neither of them seemed to notice nor care.

“So,” Lena started. “What do you want to know?”

Kara didn’t hesitate. “What’s your favorite color?”

Lena blinked in surprise as a laugh escaped her lips. “Seriously? That was one of your burning questions?”

“It’s a simple, lighthearted question! I thought we should start easy.”

“Easy, huh?” The smile Lena gave Kara was enough to turn her insides into mush. “Alright. My favorite color is blue.”

“That’s a good choice,” Kara said, smiling. “Mine is green.”

Lena laughed again. “That’s also a good choice.”

The two continued to ask each other similar questions, falling into easy conversation about past stories and memories—all lighthearted and fluffy, of course—until Lena asked the first hard-hitting question of the night.

“What do you miss most about Krypton?”

The words were like a blast to the gut as Kara turned away from Lena, her eyes beginning to wet with tears. “Um…I, uh…I really miss my mom. I also miss my cousin, Kal. But I really, really miss my dad. I miss them all so much.”

“Oh, Kara.” Lena covered the Kryptonian’s hand with her own and gave it a tight squeeze. “I’m so sorry. I wish I could’ve done something.”

“It’s not your fault,” Kara said. “Besides, there was nothing you could’ve done.”

“There might’ve been,” Lena countered, her own eyes filling with tears. “You shouldn’t have had to suffer for the sins of a rebellion your ancestors started.”

“My father actually was one of the leaders,” Kara explained. “He was born into it and believed in it so much, believing that he was fighting for a better life for all Kryptonians and all life forms in the galaxy. I believed him, too.”

“It must be nice to believe in your family. I’ve never been able to, at least not since Lex became Emperor.”

Kara’s heart ached for her friend, and she placed a comforting hand on the princess’s thigh. “I’m sorry, Lena.”

“It’s okay,” Lena said, giving Kara a smile. “I’m glad that I have someone who cares about me now.”

Lena leaned over and rested her head on Kara’s shoulder, the latter freezing for a slight second before relaxing. Kara’s heart was swelling with endearment for Lena, something she had felt for the woman ever since the night they met. Rao, that seemed like a lifetime ago. Kara rested her head on Lena’s, finding herself wondering what would happen if she turned and placed a kiss on that soft, raven hair. Her cheeks flooded with scarlet and Kara pushed that thought out of her head. They were _friends_ , nothing more. Besides, Lena probably didn’t feel the same way and Kara didn’t want to ruin what they had, so she just sat there with her and rubbed her thigh comfortably. They stayed there like that for a few hours before Kara realized that Lena had fallen asleep. Kara smiled; Lena looked so cute when she was asleep. She carried the princess back to their room and tucked her in, brushing the stray strands of hair out of her face before daring to place a feather-light kiss on Lena’s temple. Kara quickly climbed into her own bed after that, her heart hammering against her sternum as she chastised herself for being so foolish. It took her another hour to calm down and another half-hour to fall asleep, but Lena didn’t stir once.

 

\----------------------------

 

The next morning comes much too soon for Kara as she rubs the last remnants of sleep from her eyes and walked down to the cafeteria with an equally tired Lena and Alex. It was Lena and Kara’s last breakfast with the Earth-1 team, and Kara felt it wouldn’t be right if they didn’t say their thank you’s and goodbyes. However, feelings weren’t so cordial as they sat down across from Barry, Iris, and the others, including Maggie and Brian, who were giving Kara strange looks and Alex hostile looks. Kara suddenly remembered the events that unfolded yesterday and her face flushed as she quickly muttered an apology to Barry.

“It’s alright, Kara.” Barry said, taking a bite out of his food. “I’ll be fine when she leaves.”

Kara saw Alex clench her jaw, but before she could say anything, the agent got up and stormed out of the room, telling them she had to finish their preparations. “What the hell is your deal?” Kara asked Barry. “Do you get off on that?”

“She’s Cadmus. She can’t be trusted.”

“She’s my sister and she can be trusted!”

Barry rolled his eyes. “All Cadmus agents are the same, family or not.”

It took everything within Kara not to repeat yesterday’s debacle. Lena must’ve felt the same way as she placed a hand on Kara’s thigh. “Would you care to explain your sentiments, Mr. Allen?”

Barry furrowed his brow at Lena’s use of his formal name before speaking. “When I was a boy, my mother was murdered and my father was blamed for it. They arrested him and he was sentenced to death the very next day. Iris and Wally’s dad, Joe, took me in and raised me along with them, but I never forgot that night. I searched for answers until I finally found them, or rather, I found who actually killed my mother. It was a Cadmus agent by the name of Eobard Thawne. Apparently, he thought my mother was a spy for the Rebellion so he decided to take matters into his own hands. He even tried to kill me once he figured out what I had, but with J’onn’s help, we were able to take him down.” Barry paused, looking Kara in the eye. “I don’t trust anyone associated with the name Cadmus, no matter who they are. Anyone who serves the Emperor is the enemy.”

Kara didn’t know what to say; so many emotions were vying for control within her, it was overwhelming. “I’m sorry about your parents, Barry,” she finally said. “I really am, but Alex is not like Eobard. She didn’t join Cadmus because she believes in the Emperor and his laws, she joined to protect me.”

With that, Kara got up and headed back to her room, her body shaking with anger. Barry had no right to judge Alex. He didn’t even know her! People who judged others before they got to know them really got under her skin; Kara wished that they gave her sister a chance. Alex didn’t deserve that kind of treatment. Kara got back to the room to find Alex sitting on her bed in silence. “Hey. You okay?”

“You’re a part of the Rebellion.”

Kara froze. “What?”

“Kara, I’m not stupid. Why else would a bunch of people be living here?” Alex sighed. “That’s why none of them in there trust me.”

“Oh, don’t pay them any mind.” Kara said as she joined Alex on the bed. “They don’t know you like I do.”

“That makes me feel better.”

Kara laughed. “I’m sorry. I know you’re in this job because of me, Jeremiah too.”

“Kara, we’ve been over this. Me taking this job is not your fault.” Alex put an arm around Kara and gave her shoulder a loving squeeze. “You’re my sister and I love you, and I would do anything to protect you.” She placed a kiss on Kara’s temple, and Kara smiled.

“Likewise.”

“You ready to go?”

Kara nodded. “Let’s go home.”

About an hour or so later, Alex, Kara, and Lena were heading back to the shipyard where Alex had parked her pod. Maggie and Brian had left some time earlier since their business on Earth-1 is done, taking the credits they were owed from J’onn before saying goodbye to Kara and Lena; Kara found herself missing the smuggler and the alien already, despite Maggie being the one who outed Alex to the rest of the group.

The city was busy this morning, making it hard to walk through without bumping into at least one person. Kara took a hold of Lena’s hand to make sure they didn’t get separated, and the memory of the stolen kiss came flooding back to her. Her cheeks were crimson, so she avoided making eye contact with Lena, looking down and following Alex’s boots through the streets. Her heart was racing and her palms were sweating; part of her wished she had never given Lena that kiss, but another part of her wanted more. Kara shut that part of her brain up and continued to follow her sister, not lifting her head up until the first scream.

Everyone around them was moving in the opposite direction, sprinting away from something in horror. Lena moved closer to Kara and Alex pulled out her gun, ready for action. Kara looked through the crowed to see two dark, masked figures walking towards them, both bearing the symbol of the Emperor on their chests. One of them, the woman, had a weapon: a large sword that resembled a spear more than anything that she pointed directly at Lena. The two moved quicker towards them, and Kara pushed Lena further behind her as Alex froze, the agent’s eyes widening significantly. “Run! Go! Run!”

Lena immediately yanked Kara towards the crowd as Alex fired her gun at the figures. Kara turned to follow, but stopped when she saw the blasts bounce off of the figures, her heart dropping down into her stomach.

_They were bulletproof._

“Alex!”

Kara let go of Lena’s hand, not listening to the princess’s strangled protests as she sprinted as fast as she could towards the woman, who was about to throw her sword right into Alex’s chest. Kara screamed and blasted the woman with her heat vision, sending her back several feet into a fruit cart. The man stared at her in awe, at least that’s what Kara assumed since his face was covered, but the woman got up easily and shot up a few feet into the air. Kara’s jaw dropped, not noticing the man flying towards her until his fist connected with her mouth. She flew back and landed on the ground hard, groaning as she struggled to sit up. Lena was immediately by her side, trying her best to get Kara to safety as Alex swooped in and got in a few more shots.

Who were these people?

It didn’t matter. All that mattered now was that Alex and Lena were in danger, and Kara had to protect them. She stood up and let out a cry, her eyes burning red as she flew towards her assailants with clenched fists. She hit them both square in the chest, but they seemed unfazed and went in for a counter-attack, which Kara all but blocked. The three duked it out for several minutes throwing punch after punch and kick after kick—the woman got in a few swings with her sword—until Kara sent the woman flying once more, leaving only the man to deal with. Kara was bleeding, something that had never happened to her before, and her vision was beginning to blur. She could feel bruises forming on her body as the man wailed on her, and her breaths were becoming more rapid as her lungs filled with blood.

She was losing this battle and she was losing it fast.

One final punch sent her falling, her head cracking like an egg as she hit the ground. Her vision was fading fast and she could barely make out the sounds around her; she could’ve sworn she heard someone scream her name. Just as she was about to pass out, the wind began to pick up around her and the man was hit with several blasts from above. They were from a ship, Kara thought. They did nothing to him, of course, but they were quick enough that they kept him at bay as two sets of arms picked Kara up and began to drag her away. Kara managed to get one good look at the man as she was lifted onto the ship, one of the blasts having knocked his mask clean off. When his eyes met hers, Kara’s heart stopped, everything fading to black as the revelation of who he was took over.

It was her long-lost cousin, Kal-El.


	10. Episode X: Mending Hearts and Minds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey,” she smiled, her green eyes sparkling. “How are you feeling?”
> 
> “Ugh, like I got stepped on by a AT-AT,” Kara groaned as she attempted to turn to face Lena better. She also noticed a strange weight in her hand, but her neck hurt way too much to look down. Besides, she couldn’t look away from Lena’s face if she tried. “How long have I been out?”
> 
> “It’s been a few hours at least,” Lena replied. “You…you got beat pretty badly back there. It’s lucky that you heal fast, at least that’s what your sister said. Most people who go up against Reign and Overman either end up captured or…dead.”
> 
> The memory of the fight came flooding back to Kara, and she shot up suddenly, her eyes wide and her mind racing, sending Lena back in shock. “Lena, I think I know who Overman is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Pirina/Kakashi-Chidori and fishingwild for reviewing this beforehand! Ya'll are the best!

The first thing Kara realized when she woke up was that she was no longer on Earth-1, if the soft material underneath her and the dark, metallic pipes adorning the ceiling were anything to go off of. The second thing she noticed was how much her entire body ached. It hurt to move; it was as if her limbs were replaced with stone. Nevertheless, she tried to sit up, despite her whole body screaming in protest as well as a hand gently forcing her back down.

“Shh. You need to rest.”

Kara opened her eyes more and saw Lena sitting next to her. “Lena?”

“Hey,” she smiled, her green eyes sparkling. “How are you feeling?”

“Ugh, like I got stepped on by a AT-AT,” Kara groaned as she attempted to turn to face Lena better. She also noticed a strange weight in her hand, but her neck hurt way too much to look down. Besides, she couldn’t look away from Lena’s face if she tried. “How long have I been out?”

“It’s been a few hours at least,” Lena replied. “You…you got beat pretty badly back there. It’s lucky that you heal fast, at least that’s what your sister said. Most people who go up against Reign and Overman either end up captured or…dead.”

The memory of the fight came flooding back to Kara, and she shot up suddenly, her eyes wide and her mind racing, sending Lena back in shock. “Lena, I think I know who Overman is.”

“How could you possibly know who he is?”

Kara swallowed before answering. “He’s my cousin.”

Lena furrowed her brow. “I think you may have taken more damage than I previously thought.”

“No, it was him, Lena. I swear it! I would know him anywhere.”

“Okay,” Lena said, rubbing her forehead with her fingers. “When was the last time you saw him?”

Kara paused, her eyes falling into her lap. “The day Krypton was destroyed.”

The room fell silent for several minutes; Kara couldn’t bring herself to look at Lena. The pain of that day was as strong today as it was then, and Kara didn't think that she would ever recover from that trauma.

“Right,” Lena finally said, her voice low and dejected. “You told me about that. Gods, I am so sorry, Kara.”

“It’s okay. I just…I just can’t believe that Kal is working for the Empire. His parents, like mine, were prominent figures in the Rebellion and he wanted to follow in their footsteps.” Kara blinked back the oncoming tears. “He didn’t even recognize me, Lena.”

“I’m so sorry.”

Kara felt the pressure in her hand increase, and she realized that Lena had been holding her hand this entire time. She squeezed back. “You don’t have to apologize, Lena.”

“I don’t know what else to do.”

“You can stay.” The words are out of Kara’s mouth before she had time to think about them. Her eyes widened and her face flushed, but Lena just smiled.

“I wasn’t thinking about leaving.”

Kara looked back up at Lena, a smile spreading on her own face. “Thank you. Oh, I forgot to ask. Where’s Alex?”

The smile was quickly replaced by a grimace. “I had to kick her and Maggie out so you could rest peacefully.”

Kara furrowed her brow. “What happened?”

“They just wouldn’t stop arguing about where to go and what to do, going at each other’s throats since we got on the ship. It was quite annoying, really.”

Kara laughed, wincing and coughing as pain shot through her ribs. “I’m gonna go find her.”

“No. No, you’re not.” Lena pushed Kara back down onto the mattress. “You are staying here and resting until you are fully recovered.”

“But—”

“Kara Danvers, as the Imperial Princess, I order you to lay back down and rest.”

Kara gaped at Lena, groaning as she begrudgingly laid back down.

“Thank you,” Lena said.

They were silent for a bit before Kara spoke up again. “So what’s the story behind Reign and Overman? How did Kal come to work for the empire?”

Lena shifted slightly in her seat, her hand still in Kara’s. “They’re Lex’s bounty hunters, and they’re very good at what they do. Lex’s personal favorites of his soldiers, especially Overman. They are very close, always have been. They’re almost like brothers.”

Kara felt sick to her stomach. The Kal she knew would’ve never befriended Lex in a million years. Maybe he was doing it for survival purposes, but that didn’t explain why Kal hadn’t recognized her.

“I didn’t know Overman’s real name growing up,” Lena continued. “And I didn’t know he was from Krypton. I thought he was just another one of Lex’s experiments.”

That sent a chill down Kara’s spine. “Experiments?”

Lena nodded gravely. “Lex spent a lot of his time in his room and his lab growing up. I knew Reign was one of them, so I assumed Overman was as well.”

He very well still could’ve been, Kara thought. Why else would he be working with Lex willingly? “You know, for all of my life, I thought I was the only one who survived Krypton’s destruction. I didn’t know what happened to Kal, or if he even made it to Coruscant. I searched for him at first, but it quickly became apparent that he wasn’t there. Now that he’s alive…this changes everything. I have to get him back, Lena. He’s the only blood relative I have left.”

Lena shook her head. “That’s impossible, Kara.”

“The boy I knew has to still be in there,” Kara argued. “I have to try.”

“Right now, our priority should be focusing on getting you better and getting somewhere safe.”

“But—”

“We’ll focus on Kal later, Kara, but I don’t think he can be saved. He’s too far under Lex’s influence.”

Kara sighed dejectedly and leaned back against the bed frame. Lena squeezes her hand once more, and Kara couldn’t help but love the way Lena’s hand fit in her own; she couldn’t imagine not holding Lena’s hand. “I'm glad you’re not under his influence, and I’m glad you’re here with me.”

Lena smiled. “I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.”

 

\-------------------------------------

 

Alex paced up and down the floor of the main living area of the _Nightwing_ , stress and concern vying for control within her. She was frustrated because Lena had kicked her, along with Maggie, out of Kara’s room so the Kryptonian could rest better. Speaking of the pilot, she was beginning to get on Alex’s last nerves. Maggie had been at her throat ever since they boarded this grisly ship, and Alex was just about sick of it; Kara’s stubbornness had nothing on Maggie’s, which the agent found astonishing. Maggie wanted to keep moving and find another planet to lay low on until they could figure out what to do next, while Alex wanted to return to Coruscant and lay low there. Their argument had gotten so heated that Lena had to pull out her Princess card and threw them out. Maggie had swiftly gone back to the cockpit while Alex was left to pace and take in her surroundings. She noticed all of the contraband on board, all of the food and drinks and herbs and whiskies and such, but she also noticed how incredibly homey the ship was and it made her wonder: did Maggie not actually have a home to go back to when she was done smuggling all of this stuff? Alex felt a little bad for the pilot then, but only a little bit. She was still breaking the law and it was only under Lena’s orders that Alex didn’t arrest her.

Then there was the situation with Kara.

Maggie had an AI on the ship that could assess the damage and help with Kara’s already fast healing ability (which was significantly dampened since they were in deep space), so Alex was at least thankful for the pilot for that one. Nevertheless, a big sister never stops worrying, and Kara had been beaten severely badly by the two bounty hunters back on Earth-1. Alex had never actually seen Reign and Overman in person, only heard stories about them, and each one terrified her more than the last. She had heard about the time that Reign sliced a man clean in half with her sword and how Overman once punched a hole through another one’s chest with a single blow, so she thanked the gods that Kara was able to walk away with a few scratches and bruises thanks to her Kryptonian heritage.

Speaking of Kryptonian heritage, Overman and Reign appeared to have the same power set as Kara did. Alex was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Kara wasn’t the only survivor of Krypton’s destruction, and not only that, but they were also on Coruscant the same time as Kara. The Kryptonian had told her all about Kal, how he was in the pod before her before Krypton was blown up…was he Overman? Before she could give that any more thought, a door behind her opened and Maggie walked through, stopping and tensing up when she saw Alex.

“I thought you would be resting,” Maggie said.

Alex scoffed. “I’ll rest when I know Kara will be alright.”

“Look,” Maggie started. “I know I haven’t known your sister for long, but I do know she has gumption and spirit the likes of which I haven’t seen in a very long time. She’s going to be okay, trust me.”

She stepped by Alex towards her fridge, pulling out two bottles of Elba beer before sitting down at the table and taking a long swig out of one.

“Are you seriously drinking while flying?”

“I have this thing called a copilot. His name is Brian and he’s a very good flyer. Well, not as good as me, but he’s pretty good.” Maggie took another swig. “Besides, I need a break before going in for the long haul.”

Alex furrowed her brow. “The long haul?”

“We’re going to the outer rim of the galaxy, to a planet called Taris. Not even the Emperor’s lackeys will be able to find us there. We’ll be safe there.”

Alex shook her head. “This is a bad idea.”

Maggie raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you got a better idea then?”

“Yeah. Go back to Coruscant.”

“If we go back there right now, we might as well sign our death certificates. Taris is the best chance we have at survival. I know a guy there. He’s a little rough around the edges, but he will be able to help us.”

“Cadmus is everywhere, Maggie.”

“That’s Captain Sawyer to you.”

Alex rolled her eyes. “Cadmus is everywhere. One time, a few of my fellow agents once brought in a Valeronian who was hiding out on Tamaran.”

Maggie sighed. “We will be safe there, and I don’t know you at all, but I know you will do anything to protect Kara and keep her safe.”

Alex opens her mouth to retort, but comes up empty. Maggie was right; she would do anything to protect Kara. She joined Cadmus, after all.

“Hey.”

Alex looked up and saw Maggie half-smiling and holding out the other beer to her. “Come sit. Have a beer with me. Since we’ll be on this journey together for the unforeseeable future, I think it’s best that we get to know each other a little better.”

Alex gave her a skeptical look before finally sitting down across from the pilot and accepting the beer.

“Sorry about trying to shoot you back on Earth-1, by the way.”

“Don’t push your luck, Sawyer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go vote!!!


	11. Episode XI: Hearts Soaring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena’s heart fluttered into her throat, and she found it hard to stay composed as she asked her next question. “You love me?”
> 
> Silence. “Yes.”
> 
> “In what way?”
> 
> Kara took in a deep breath and licked her lips, her eyes flitting between Lena’s eyes and lips. “In every way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Pirina/Kakashi-Chidori for reviewing this beforehand! Y'all are the best!!

_Now on the way to Taris, the team finds themselves confined to the ship, where confessions and buried feelings start to come to light…_

 

The group spent the next couple of weeks traveling through deep space aboard the _Nightwing_ , making their way towards the Outer Rim, towards Taris, where Maggie said they would be safe. The pilot said it would take at least a month of travel before they arrived, so she suggested that everyone get comfortable as they weren’t going to make any pit stops in case someone was tailing them.

“You’re lucky I’m not charging any of you for eating and drinking this stuff,” Maggie said in regards to the contraband on board. “This is valuable merchandise.”

“Well, maybe when we get to Taris, you can find some buyers,” Lena commented, making the pilot laugh and Alex roll her eyes.

“I’m glad I kept you around, Princess. How’s our Kryptonian friend doing?”

“Still resting,” Lena responded solemnly. “I’m going to go check on her.” Kara had been spending the majority of her time on the ship healing, still recovering from the injuries she got in the fight against Reign and Overman. Lena had spent almost all of her waking moments by Kara’s side, despite the latter’s insistence that she was fine, and while Lena knew that, she couldn’t find in within herself to leave the blonde alone, not even for a second. There was something about Kara that drew the princess to her, and Lena found it useless to resist.

Of course, she never voiced these feelings, instead telling Kara that she owed her a debt for saving her life back at the Palace.

“Lena, you don’t owe me anything,” Kara had said, but Lena didn’t feel that to be true. Her affection for the Kryptonian had grown significantly over the past several weeks since they first met, and now Lena couldn’t imagine her life without Kara. She softly knocked on her door before opening it slowly. Kara was lying in bed, but she shot up once she met Lena’s eyes. “Hey.”

That was enough to melt Lena’s heart. “Hey. How are you feeling?”

Kara groaned. “Wishing I wasn’t confined to this bed.”

“You _aren’t_ confined to this bed,” Lena corrected. “But it makes me feel better knowing that you’re resting.”

“I know, I know.” Kara smiled, tapping a spot on her mattress lightly. “Come sit with me.”

Unable to resist, Lena walked over and sat next to Kara. Kara sat up more so she could face Lena better, taking the princess’s hand in her own and tracing her thumb over her knuckles. The gesture sent a shiver through Lena’s body, and she hoped Kara couldn’t hear her frantic heartbeat.

“Can I ask you something?” Kara asked after a while.

Lena nodded, not trusting her own voice.

“What will you do when the war is over?”

Lena blinked in surprise, obviously taken aback by the question. “I, uh, I haven’t given that a lot of thought.”

“You must have given it _some_ thought, though.”

Lena shrugged. “This is based off the assumption that the Rebellion is going to win.”

“Of course they’re going to win, Lena. The Emperor doesn’t even know the Rebellion is still going strong. He doesn’t, right?”

Lena shook her head. “I don’t believe so. I didn’t even know about the Rebellion until a few hours before I met you.”

“Well, that’s good.” Kara said. “But that doesn’t answer my first question.”

Lena sighed, knowing that Kara would keep pestering her until she gave her an answer, so she decided to play along. “If the Rebellion wins, my family would be out of power, so we would either be exiled or sentenced to death for our crimes against the galaxy.”

Kara’s grip on Lena’s hand tightened. “Neither of those things will happen, Lena, at least not to you. I won’t let that happen.”

Lena couldn’t help but smile at this. No matter how many times Kara told her this, it always touched her and made her heart soar. Nevertheless, she always wondered, “Why are so you protective of me?”

Kara was silent at first, Lena’s heart hammering against her sternum all the while. Eventually, the Kryptonian spoke, looking right into Lena’s eyes. “I protect the ones I love.”

Lena’s heart fluttered into her throat, and she found it hard to stay composed as she asked her next question. “You love me?”

Silence. “Yes.”

“In what way?”

Kara took in a deep breath and licked her lips, her eyes flitting between Lena’s eyes and lips. “In every way.”

As if drawn in by a magnet, Lena took the plunge, leaning in until her lips met Kara’s. Electricity coursed through her body as Kara kissed her back, hyper aware of the way Kara’s fingers were caressing her face, moving down her jaw and neck until they reached her hips. Lena jumped on this and straddled Kara, their kisses becoming more heated and passionate as Lena raked her fingers through Kara’s luscious locks. Kara’s body shivers as Lena kisses her jawline, her grip on her hips tightening as she flipped them over so Kara was now on top. “Is this okay?” Kara asked, her voice husky and thick that had Lena wanting more. She nodded before reconnecting their lips, and Lena drowned in everything that was Kara Zor-El.

A few hours later, both women are tangled up in each other’s limbs; sweaty, spent, and all kinds of content. Lena’s head rested on the crook of Kara’s neck as the latter pressed kisses on her temple and traced small circles on her back. Lena knew she wasn’t going to be able to move properly for a while, but her soul was soaring among the stars. She placed a sweet kiss on Kara’s pulse point, causing the Kryptonian to softly moan in delight. Lena smiled as she closed her eyes, the sound of Kara whispering lulling her to sleep. That was until she realized Kara wasn’t speaking in English.

“ _Nahn rrip zrhueiao_ ,” Kara murmured. “ _Khap nim zhindif rrip throniv. Rrip caep zhao._ ”

She repeated the same phrases over and over, the guttural Kryptonese making Lena warm in all the right ways, until finally her curiosity got the better of her. “What are you saying?”

Silence. “Want me to teach you?”

Lena propped herself up on her elbow, looking down at Kara with adoration as she nodded.

“Okay. _Nan rrip zrhueiao_ means _you’re beautiful_. You’re so beautiful, Lena, that all of the stars are jealous.”

Lena smiled, trying to hide her growing blush as Kara continued. “ _Khap nim zhindif rrip throniv_ means _I’ll always protect you_. And I will, that’s a promise.”

“I know,” Lena said, bringing Kara’s hand to her lips and gently kissing it. “I’ll protect you, too. What does the third saying mean?”

Now it’s Kara’s turn to blush. “ _Rrip caep zhao._ It means _I love you_. I love you, Lena Luthor, with everything that I am. I am yours, for as long as you’ll have me.”

Kara’s thumb softly stroked Lena’s cheek, and it took everything within her not to burst into tears. “I love you, too, Kara Zor-El. And I too am yours.”

Kara’s eyes widened. “You do?”

“Yes, you dork,” Lena laughed, reassuring Kara with a kiss. “I think I loved you since the night we met.”

Kara gave her a watery smile, and Lena’s heart melted. “Likewise.”

Their lips meet again, connecting over and over again slowly and softly, and Lena felt more at peace with Kara than she had in a long time.

 

\-------------------------------

 

Another week and a half passed by as the _Nightwing_ made the halfway point to Taris. The crew was beginning to grow antsy, save for Kara and Lena; Maggie noticed that the both of them seemed more chipper and… _smilier_ than usual. She doesn’t say anything, though, knowing full well she didn’t want to stick her nose into their business, especially if her suspicions were correct. Besides, she’d rather stick her nose into Alex’s business, as she found the Cadmus turncoat to be much more interesting than she previously gave her credit for.

While they had initially gotten off on the wrong foot, Alex and Maggie had grown closer during their time together on the _Nightwing_ —not that they had much choice in the first place—but Maggie was finding herself growing fond of the red-headed woman…and it kind of scared her. Maggie had never been good when it came to feelings, particularly of the heart-racing, palm-sweating, body-numbing kind. These types of feelings were what got her started down the path of a smuggler. Nevertheless, Maggie did value Alex’s companionship; she didn’t have a lot of female friends growing up, and while she did enjoy both Kara and Lena’s company, she enjoyed Alex’s just a bit more.

The two had taken to staying up later than the others, save for Brian, drinking and sharing stories from their lives, Alex more so than Maggie, and tonight was no exception. They’re sitting in the living area, Elba beers in hand while Brian flew the ship and Kara and Lena rested. Alex was recounting a story from her and Kara’s childhood, but Maggie was only half-listening; she was instead focused on the way Alex’s lips formed each word, the way her hands moved as she told the story, the twinkle in her brown eyes whenever she talked about Kara, the way she smiled and the way her hair fell on her face. Maggie noticed all of those things.

“So what about you?”

Maggie blinked, brought out of her thoughts by the sound of Alex’s voice addressing her, and she blushed. “What?”

“What about you?” Alex repeated. “Tell me about yourself.”

Maggie froze. “I, uh, I have to go check on Brian. Make sure he doesn’t crash the ship into a stray asteroid.”

“Ah no. You’ve used that excuse every time I try to get you to open up, but not this time. Sit back down.”

Groaning inwardly, Maggie begrudgingly sits back down. “Fine. What would you like to know?”

“How did you become a smuggler?”

Maggie scoffed. “Of course that’s the first thing you want to know.”

“Well…”

“Okay, okay, fine.” Maggie took a deep breath. “It wasn’t a life I was born into, if that’s what you’re thinking. I was born on Corellia, in a city called Gotham. I had a loving mother, a proud father, and we were all happy. That all changed when I was thirteen, when I discovered something about me that was…abnormal.”

“Abnormal?”

The pilot exhaled a shaky breath, turning to Alex and looked her in the eye. “I feel the way about women the way I should feel about men. When my parents found out, my father had kicked me out onto the streets, saying that I had shamed him.” Tears were stinging the back of her eyes, but Maggie continued. “I lived on the streets for several weeks, hiding out in empty boxes or buildings and stealing food whenever I could. One night, though, I stole from the wrong person, the biggest crime boss in all of Gotham, and I was scared that I was going to be killed. But that’s not what happened. The Penguin took mercy on me, apparently being impressed with my abilities, and said that I would be a valuable asset to his gang, so I joined, seeing as I had no other option other than death, and I ran with them for several years.”

“What happened?” Alex asked. “I take it you’re not with them anymore.”

Maggie shook her head. “I, uh, I got bored. I wanted to do things my way instead of Penguin’s, and he wasn’t too happy about that. He threatened me, so I hijacked the _Nightwing_ and ran. I still have the money I owe him from the last mission he sent me on.” She laughed softly. “I hid away on Alderaan for a bit until I found Brian. I saved his ass from some aliens he heckled, and he hasn’t left my side since. He may be a little annoying, but he’s a good kid.”

“Aren’t you worried about Penguin finding you?”

Maggie laughed again, louder this time. “Remember the day back on Coruscant outside the tavern, where you and your Cadmus friends and us and another group of people got into a good ol’ classic shoot-out? That other group of people was Penguin’s men. They had found me just before you arrived. They always find me eventually, but I’ve always been able to elude them, so I’m not all that worried.” She shrugged and took a swig of her beer, feeling lighter in body and spirit. It felt…good. “Well, that’s my story. Was it everything you were expecting and more?”

Alex chuckled, the mere sound sending Maggie’s heart fluttering. “It was. But you should be careful, lest your luck run out.”

“My luck may run dry one day, but today is not that day.” She took another swig. “I’m glad you’re here, Danvers. I’m sorry again for assuming the worst about you back on Earth-1.”

“It’s fine,” Alex said. “I would’ve reacted the same way. I’m glad I’m here, too, despite our constant bickering.”

“Oh, that’s just how I show affection.”

They both laugh and drink some more, Maggie relaxing a lot more now that her cards were out on the table. “Do you want to learn how to fly?”

“I know how to fly, Sawyer. I tracked you down to Earth-1 in a pod, remember?”

“I meant like a big ship. A ship like this.” She gestured around her. “Wanna learn?”

Alex opens her mouth to protest, but Maggie reached out and grabbed her hand before dragging her to the cockpit. She ordered Brian to go to bed and get some rest, Alex taking up his vacant seat next to Maggie.

“Alright, so put your hand on that lever there. Good. Push it forward a little, now push that big glowing button to your right. Not the yellow one, the blue one.”

Alex followed her instructions, and the ship shuddered, going marginally faster than they were before. Maggie beamed. “You got it!”

Alex smiled, looking down as her cheeks turned pink. “You ever get sick of this view?”

Maggie followed Alex’s line of sight, out into the stars that were surrounding them. “No,” she said, turning back to Alex and smiling, her heart skipping a beat when Alex smiled back. “I don’t think I ever will.”


	12. Episode XII: Hijacked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara crawled over to Lena, who was splayed out on the other side of the cockpit. “Are you okay?”
> 
> “I’m fine,” Lena coughed. “What’s going on?”
> 
> “Maggie says we’re being hijacked, so we have to go.”
> 
> Before Lena could protest, Maggie was leading them all back to the entrance of the ship, handing them all a weapon. “We protect the ship and we protect each other, got it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Pirina/Kakashi-Chidori and fishingwild for reviewing this beforehand! Y'all are the best!

_The team makes it to Taris, but just as they think they are finally safe, they are hijacked by a more dangerous and more deadly crew with dark intentions in store for our heroes…_

 

The room was still dark when Kara opened her eyes. Lena was still fast asleep, curled up into Kara’s side comfortably and warmly. She had little to no idea how to keep time on this ship, and the fact that they were traveling through deep space with no sun only made it harder. Nevertheless, she knew they were getting close to Taris and that the intimate time she spent with Lena would be coming to a close. Well, maybe not a close, but they would have to be careful; Kara hadn’t exactly told the rest of the group about the developments between herself and the Imperial Princess, and she wanted to keep their relationship just between them, at least for a little bit longer. Kara had loved every moment she had spent with Lena and she still couldn’t believe that Lena liked her back, loved her even. She smiled, stroking the Princess’s hair gently as she kissed her temple. They had been sleeping together like this—and in other ways—for almost the entire time they’ve been on the _Nightwing_ , and Kara had never felt happier in her entire life.

Nevertheless, their new relationship made Kara all the more worried and all the more adamant about protecting Lena.

Her stomach growled then, roaring loudly like a corridor ghoul. Kara was surprised that Lena didn’t even stir at the sound, but nevertheless, she wasn’t about to say no to food, so Kara slowly tried to disentangle herself from Lena’s limbs. Her plan was thwarted when Lena tightened her hold on the Kryptonian, groaning in protest. Kara softly laughed. She knew she could easily disentangle herself from Lena’s grip, but she stayed where she was, relishing in Lena’s warm and soft touch as she leaned into the embrace. Kara took in the sight of her lover’s beautiful face, stroking her soft cheek and peppering her face with tiny kisses. “Lena. Lena, you have to wake up.”

“No,” Lena mumbled. “Sleep.”

Kara laughed. “We can’t stay in bed forever.”

“Yes we can. I say so.”

“The idea is tempting, love, but my stomach is summoning me to supper.”

“Stay.” Lena nuzzled Kara’s neck, placing sleepy kisses on her throat and jawline, making her way up to the Kryptonian’s lips. The kisses start off as tiny pecks, quickly morphing into a full on make-out session. Kara lost herself in each kiss, all of her senses attuned to Lena and Lena only. She runs her fingers through Lena’s dark hair and rests her hand on her hips as they grind onto her own, the kisses becoming more passionate with each passing second, and Kara found herself wanting to do this forever…

“Wait, wait, wait.” Kara broke away, her breaths hot and heavy as her eyes meet Lena’s sweet gaze.

“Kara, what’s wrong?” Lena gently stroked her cheek and Kara shivered at the touch. How can someone who was raised to be so cold and distant be so sweet and affectionate? “Are you alright?”

“Are you happy?” The words are out before Kara can stop them, and she feels the heat rise in her cheeks as Lena furrows her brow.

“What? Of course I am. This is the happiest I’ve been in a long time. Why do you ask?”

Kara took a deep breath. “You remember when I asked you about what you were going to do after the war?” Lena nodded. “Well, I’ve realized that I haven’t even thought about what I’m going to do, but I do know that I want you to be a part of it and I hope that I’m enough for you.”

Lena’s lips curled into a warm smile. “You are more than enough for me, Kara. You always will be. You have such a good heart. That’s one of the many reason that I love you.” She kissed the back of Kara’s hand. “Can I tell you something?”

Kara nodded.

“Ever since I met you, I’ve felt like I have a home.”

Kara reciprocated Lena’s smile, pulling her in for a long, gentle kiss. “You will always have a home with me, Lena. I promise. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

They kissed some more until the growling in Kara’s stomach became unbearable, so they both got out of bed, Kara heading to the main living area while Lena went to the washroom to clean herself up. Kara fixes them both a bowl of grainmush and sits down at the table, feeling absolutely elated. She never thought this would be possible for her, but it was, and Kara’s heart swelled with love for Lena. She was so wrapped up in her emotions that she didn’t notice Alex sit down in front of her until the latter coughed.

“Oh! Hey, Alex! What’s up?”

Her sister was eyeing her strangely, and Kara was unsettled by it. “Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know,” Alex said, shrugging. “Is there?”

Kara furrowed her brow. “I’m confused…”

“You’ve been acting strange,” Alex explained. “Well, stranger than usual. We’ve been confined in a flying metal box for several weeks and you haven’t acted fidgety or claustrophobic once. You seem…peppy, so what’s going on?”

“Nothing, I’m fine,” Kara mumbled through a bite of grainmush. “I’ve been recovering from the fight with Reign and Overman and I’m happy that I’m not dead!”

“Sure,” Alex said, unconvinced. “You know, Maggie mentioned something about you and Lena the other day.”

Kara’s heart screeched to a halt and she nearly dropped her spoon. “What?”

“You and the Princess. What’s going on between you two?”

Kara felt her mouth go dry; several thoughts and emotions were running through her body that she forgot how to speak. Before she could come up with an explanation, Lena entered the room, and Kara’s heart didn’t know what to do. Lena sat down beside Kara and took a bite of her food, not noticing Alex staring at her at first. “Agent Danvers, is there something wrong?”

Alex shook her head. “I’m going to go check on Maggie and see how close we are to Taris.”

With that, the agent got up and left the area, leaving Lena confused and Kara anxious. The Kryptonian let out a loud sigh and Lena asked her what was wrong.

“I think, uh,” Kara started. “I think Alex and Maggie know about us.”

Lena’s eyes widened. “How would they know that? I thought we were discreet.”

Kara shrugged. “They were bound to find out sooner or later.”

“Do you think your sister’s mad?”

“I hope not!”

Just then, Maggie’s voice sounded through the comms, telling the both of them to report to the cockpit. Kara shoveled a few more bites of food into her mouth before they both headed down there. Kara did her best to avoid Alex’s eyes on her, instead focusing on the large planet before her.

“Glad you could join us, ladies,” Maggie said, smirking at Kara when she looked back. “We’re a little ways a way from Taris, so buckle up ‘cause—ah!”

The ship was thrown forward by a strong force, knocking Alex, Kara, and Lena down to the floor. Kara reached for Lena, but another force hit them and sent Lena flying away from Kara.

“Everybody, hold on! Brian, punch it!”

The pilots pressed several buttons and moved their controls forward as lights blared overhead, but they didn’t move forward; instead, it felt as if they were moving backwards. Brian’s eyes widened. “What’s happening?”

Maggie grit her teeth. “Shit! We’re being hijacked. Everyone, come on!”

Kara crawled over to Lena, who was splayed out on the other side of the cockpit. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Lena coughed. “What’s going on?”

“Maggie says we’re being hijacked, so we have to go.”

Before Lena could protest, Maggie was leading them all back to the entrance of the ship, handing them all a weapon. “We protect the ship and we protect each other, got it?”

Everyone nodded just as the ship came to a jarring halt. “On my mark,” Maggie said, pointing her pistol at the door. Alex did the same, followed by Brian, whose hand was shaking some. Kara and Lena shared a look before doing following suit. The moments of silence that followed were some of the longest in Kara’s life; she could hear everyone’s anxious heartbeats thundering in her ears like storms, and it was a miracle that Kara didn’t lose her mind then. All of the sudden, the door swung open and something was thrown in. A cylindrical object landed right in front of their feet before emitting a pale gas that quickly engulfed the interior of the _Nightwing_. Kara coughed violently, holding onto Lena’s hand as they both fall to the ground, their vision swimming and their bodies going numb. The last thing Kara saw was a dark masked figure standing above her before she fell into a void of pitch black darkness.

 

\-------------------------------------------

 

Kara’s head was throbbing when she woke next, her limbs feeling as if they had been injected with Mandalorian iron, they were so heavy. She groaned as she pushed herself up off the cold floor, quickly noticing the restraints around her wrists. Kara tried to break free from them, but they were secured tight; she really missed her super strength right now. Blinking and groaning, she looked around the room, quickly realizing she was in some sort of dark cell and that she wasn’t alone: Alex, Maggie, Lena, and Brian were all unconscious and had similar restraints on their wrists. Kara’s heart dropped, and she made to crawl over to them, but she could barely move.

“Lena,” she said, her voice hoarse. “Alex. Guys, wake up.”

Suddenly, the door to the cell opened, and two women entered. Both had dark hair and necklaces around their necks: one had a golden fox and spikes on hers while the other had a red jewel in the middle of a gold circle.

“Who are you?” Kara asked, pushing herself back up again.

“Your captors,” the woman with the red necklace said. “I thought that was obvious.”

“What do you want with us?”

“That’s what you’re about to find out,” the other woman said, smirking menacingly. “Captain just called a meeting and wanted us to bring the prisoners to the bridge. So come on, up you go.”

Kara was pulled to her feet and shoved out of the cell, followed by the rest of her companions who had begun to stir when the women came in. One woman took Kara and Lena by the arms while the other took Alex, Maggie, and Brian as they led them down to the bridge, where several other people that Kara assumed to be the crew were lounging about. Kara tensed up when a few of them whistled at her. Who were these people and what did they want with them? The women push them to the center and veer off to the side to join the rest of their crew. Kara looked at the rest of her friends, but they looked just as confused as she did and probably felt just as scared. She made to reach for Lena’s hand, but was unable to due to the restraints.

_Rao, I could really use your help right now!_

There was movement before them, and Kara turned to see a short blonde woman standing before them. She wore all white, which made her appear soft, but her eyes were as hard as rock. “Thank you Amaya, Zari,” she said, nodding to the women who brought them here. “Welcome, distinguished guests to the _Waverider_. And a warm welcome back to you, Sawyer. How long has it been?”

Kara turned to Maggie, confusion etched on her face. The smuggler’s, on the other hand, was contorted with unbridled rage. “What the hell did you do to my ship, Lance?”

“Wait,” Alex spoke. “You two know each other?”

“We go way back,” the woman called Lance replied. “And don’t worry, your precious ship is fine. In fact, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it and when I saw that you were still piloting it. It must be my lucky day.”

“Where are you taking us?” Lena demanded.

“Ooh, a feisty one. I like her.” Sara turned around and pressed a button on the control panel before her, bringing up an image of a planet Kara had never seen before. “We’re going to Corellia.”

Kara felt both Maggie and Brian tense up beside her, and Sara chuckled. “Penguin put a mighty fine bounty on you ever since you left, Sawyer. Been looking for you for a long time. Butch got quite the punishment after your failed capture on Coruscant. You should see what he has for a hand now.”

“I’ve gotten out of worse spots before and I’ll get out of this one.”

Sara threw her head back and laughed. “Not this time, sweetheart. Amaya, Zari, show the rest of these clowns back to their cell. Sawyer and I have some catching up to do.”

Kara felt hands on her again dragging her away; Alex, on the other hand, didn’t want to go so quietly. “If you lay a hand on her, I swear I will kill you myself.”

That just got a lot of laughs and jibes from the rest of the crew as Amaya and Zari led them back to their cell, throwing them in like animals in a cage.

“Try and get comfortable,” Zari said. “It’s a long way to Corellia.”

With that, the women closed the door and locked it. Alex threw herself up against it, yelling and screaming at them to let them out and warning what would happen to them if they laid a finger on Maggie. Kara turned to face Lena, who was looking at her with a resigned expression. She curled up against the warmth of the Kryptonian, and Kara placed a comforting kiss on the top of her head. They were going to get out of this.

Hopefully.


	13. Episode XIII: The Penguin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The door to their cell opens and two men walk in. “Rise and shine, people!” the one with the slick-backed hair shouted. “We have arrived!”
> 
> The rest of the gang groan as the men forced themselves on their feet and shuffled them out the door, and Alex’s breath hitched once the realization hit her. They were on Cordellia. They were in Gotham. 
> 
> They were about to meet the dreaded Penguin. 
> 
> \------
> 
> In other words, some shit's about to go down, but we get some cute Supercorp and Sanvers moments first, even a Maggie and Sara scene!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Pirina/Kakashi-Chidori and fishingwild for reviewing this beforehand! You guys are the best!

_The gang sits in their cell as their captors take them to Cordellia, to Gotham City where the crime boss known as the Penguin is waiting for Maggie’s long awaited return…_

 

There was no way to tell time in their cell. Occasionally, one of the members of the Waverider crew would spontaneously show up to give them rations, but they were mostly left in the dark. Maggie hadn’t returned yet, so everyone was on edge, especially Brian and Alex, the latter being the only one who attempts to talk to their captors, practically begging them to tell her how Maggie is and if she is okay. She never got an answer, but that didn’t stop her from trying every single time. Kara could only watch as her sister dissolved into a blubbering mess, wondering how in the galaxy Alex went from absolutely detesting Maggie to caring about her wellbeing. It was, for lack of a better word, bizarre.

She spent most of her time in the cell comforting Lena, who hadn’t really spoken since they’ve been locked up in here. Nevertheless, Kara made it her sole duty to help Lena feel better, even if she was feeling dour herself.

“What do you think will happen to Maggie?” Kara asked Brian one time when Alex and Lena were sleeping. “To us?”

Brian just looked at her grimly and shook his head. “Nothing good.”

They didn’t really talk a whole lot after that, each one suffering in silence as they awaited their fate, until one night when sleep eluded Kara. She sits up, disentangling herself from Lena’s arms to find Alex sitting up against the opposite wall. Kara furrows her brow. Apparently, her sister couldn’t sleep either. She crawls over and sits next to Alex. “Can’t sleep?”

Alex shakes her head.

“You think we’re almost there?”

“I don’t know,” Alex shrugs. “But we have to get out of here somehow.”

“We will, Alex, don’t worry.” _We have to_ , Kara thinks. She made a promise to Lena that she would always keep her safe. How could she do that in a cell?

“How long do you think this thing between you and the princess will last?”

Kara turns to look at her sister, bewildered. It’s almost as if she read her mind. “I hope this lasts for a long, long time.”

“Kara,” Alex says with a warning tone, “getting involved with one of the people who basically run the galaxy, especially now, is incredibly dangerous.”

Kara rolls her eyes. “I know. I don’t care.”

“Well, I do! I don’t want you to get hurt, or worse!”

“I won’t, I promise. Besides, I love Lena and I will do anything to protect her.”

“That’s what I’m worried about.”

“You care about Maggie, don’t you?”

Alex falls silent, a rising crimson in her cheeks answering Kara’s question for her.

“You must really care about her if you’re asking about her everyday, huh?”

Alex nods. “Maggie isn’t what I thought she was.”

“What would you do if someone hurt her?”

Alex turns and looks Kara dead in the eye. “I would kill whoever laid a finger on her.”

Kara smiles slightly. “I would do the same thing for Lena.”

“I know. How the hell did we end up here?”

Kara laughs as quietly as she can and shrugs. “We should come with a warning label.”

“Yeah, we should.”

“We will make it out of this, Alex,” Kara says with conviction, taking a hold of Alex’s hand and squeezing it tightly. “All of us. I promise.”

 

\-------------------------------------------------------

 

The bridge was now empty and quiet, and Maggie had never been more thankful for silence in her life. Sara’s new crew certainly loved their questions; they had been asking them for the past three hours and they had been grating and draining, especially since she was still restrained and couldn’t kick everyone in the balls and hijack the ship. Thankfully, Sara dismissed them so they could be left alone. Unfortunately, she was now alone with Sara Lance. The captain sat in front of her, straddling one of the chairs and eating a piece of fruit.

“You hungry?” Sara asked, offering a slice of fruit to Maggie. “I don’t know when you ate last.”

“I’m good,” Maggie growls. “What are you doing to my friends?”

“Your _friends_?” Sara’s jaw drops and she puts a hand over her heart. “There was a time when we were friends. We were as thick as thieves, you remember, Sawyer? I gotta say, I’m hurt that you’ve moved on fast.”

Maggie rolls her eyes, but Sara continues. “I want to ask you something, Sawyer. Something that’s been on my mind for a long time.” She leans forward until her face is mere inches away from Maggie’s. “Why did you run away from the people who let you in? The people who accepted you for who you were when your own family refused to?”

Maggie’s hands curled into fists and she clenches her jaw. This makes Sara laugh. “Penguin is looking forward to seeing you again. He says this reunion is long overdue.”

“I’m ecstatic,” Maggie growled through gritted teeth.

“You have nothing to worry about, Sawyer,” Sara says. “Penguin wants you back, is all. We all know you were his pet.”

“I am no one’s pet, Lance, least of all that pompous egomaniac’s.”

Sara throws her head back and guffaws, but Maggie isn’t having it. “Look, I don’t care what happens to me. Penguin can do whatever he wants to me. I just want to know what you are planning on doing with my friends.”

Sara shrugs. “Hell if I know.”

“I swear, Lance, if you so much as look at them the wrong way, so help me, I will end you.” _If you think about hurting Alex, I will kill you._

Maggie glares at Sara, wishing she could break out of these restraints so she could punch the sly grin off of Sara’s face. She didn’t need to do that, however, because Sara’s mouth formed into a hard line. “You’ve changed a lot, Sawyer, and yet you haven’t changed at all.”

With that, Sara leads Maggie back to the cell to join the others. “Do you regret leaving us, Sawyer?” Sara asks out of the blue, stopping just outside of the cell. “Do you regret leaving me?”

Maggie turns to face Sara, and was met with a curious and almost hopeful look in her sky-blue eyes. “I do miss you, Lance, but I couldn’t stay. I don’t regret leaving.”

Sara nods, her jaw setting. “I hope you’re happy then.” She opened the cell door and pushed Maggie back in before shutting the door behind her and leaving.

“Maggie!”

Maggie was suddenly bombarded with hugs by Brian and Kara, both hugging her as tight as they could. “Guys…guys, I can’t breathe.”

Both then let up and moved to the side of the cell, and Maggie finally saw Alex. Her short hair was mussed and her clothes were slightly torn and her face was a little dirty. Maggie’s heart fell at the sight. “Danvers, what the hell happened to you?” she asked as she moved to sit by her. “Did they hurt you?”

“No one hurt us,” Lena said.

“But Alex has been asking for you everyday,” Brian interjected. “You should’ve seen her the first day. She was yelling and screaming for you—”

A glare for Alex shut him up, but Maggie couldn’t stop her growing smile. “You worried about me, Danvers?”

“Well…” Alex starts, shrugging and trying to hide her blush. “We all did.”

“Uh huh.” Maggie is grinning now. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

Alex manages a smile. “I’m glad you’re okay, too.”

 

\-------------------------------------------------

 

Kara is greeted by pitch-black darkness when she woke up from her slumber, her body stiff from sleeping on the hard, cold floor for the past how ever many days they’ve been locked up in here. She shifts to get into a better position when she notices Lena sitting up beside her. “Lee?” Kara sits up as well. “What are you doing up?”

“I can’t sleep,” was the quiet response.

“You know, this is starting to become a thing for us,” Kara comments, laughing a little. “One of us finding the other awake late at night.”

Lena didn’t crack a smile, and Kara immediately became worried. “Lena, what’s wrong?”

“I’m scared,” Lena says after a while, “of what awaits us on Corellia.”

“Why?”

“I’ve heard stories about how violent and horrible the people there are, especially the ones in Gotham. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you or the others.”

“Hey.” Kara embraces Lena, placing comforting kisses on the top of her head and her cheeks. “Nothing bad is going to happen to any of us.”

Lena leans into Kara’s arms and begins to cry softly. “I should be stronger. I—I was raised to be stronger than this, I—I want to be strong for you. I’m sorry.”

“Shh, shh.” Kara rocks Lena back and forth gently, rubbing her arms and kissing her temple. “Lee, you are one of the strongest people I know. You ran away from the Palace and joined the Rebellion, eluding capture at every turn. Well, almost every turn, but you helped us get out of there and didn’t even crack a sweat. You’ve also been training to fight against the very people who raised you all because you know what they’re doing is wrong and you want to make a better future for you and the galaxy. It takes someone with true courage and strength to leave behind everything they know for the hope of a better tomorrow, and I love you all the more for it.”

To Kara’s relief, Lena manages a small smile. “You should add pep talks to your list of powers,” the princess jokes, causing Kara to laugh as quietly as she could. Kara cups Lena’s cheek and pulls her close for a long, sweet kiss.

“No matter what happens,” Kara says when they break apart, “we’ll face what comes our way together.”

Lena smiles. “Stronger together.”

“Stronger together.”

 

\----------------------------------------------

 

A loud clang shakes Alex awake. Her eyes fly open and she shoots up, waking up Maggie in the process.

“Alex, what is it?”

The door to their cell opens and two men walk in. “Rise and shine, people!” the one with the slick-backed hair shouted. “We have arrived!”

The rest of the gang groan as the men forced themselves on their feet and shuffled them out the door, and Alex’s breath hitched once the realization hit her. They were on Cordellia. They were in Gotham.

They were about to meet the dreaded Penguin.

The men—Ray and Nate is what Maggie called them—restrained them before leading them through the _Waverider_ where Sara and her crew were waiting. Once they were all together, Sara led the way out of the ship, taking Alex and everyone into a large, dark, and grimy hangar. It was one of the dirtiest hangars Alex had ever seen: a thick layer of grime covered almost every surface, and there was a smell of sulfur and oil in the air that made her want to gag. If this was what the hangar was like, Alex would hate to see what the rest of the city and planet looked like.

There were four armed guards waiting for them—one of them had a hammer for a hand—and they led them into a room connected to the hangar, down the hall and into a large, dark room that was much cleaner than the hangar was; nevertheless, Alex couldn’t shake the sense of dread as her eyes scanned the long table in front of them. All of the chairs were empty except for the one at the very end, where an imposing figure sat. He had short-cropped black hair and wore a large fur coat, smoking a cigar with white gloved hands. Alex felt a lump form in her throat and she reached for Maggie’s hand, feeling the pilot’s fingers brush against hers despite the restraints.

The Penguin.

“We’re back,” Sara says loudly, her voice echoing throughout the room. “And look who we found along the way.”

The Penguin looks up, flashing a crooked-tooth smile that sent a shiver down Alex’s spine. “My darling,” he spoke softly, looking at Maggie. “The prodigal daughter has returned to us. Come, sit by me.”

A gruff-looking man from Sara’s crew yanks Maggie away and takes her towards the Penguin, sitting her forcefully down in the chair next to him. It took everything within Alex not to rush forwards and beat the man into next century.

“You look…different,” the Penguin says. “You grew your hair out. I like it.”

Maggie remains silent.

“Of course,” the Penguin giggles. “You were never one for small talk, Maggie.”

The use of her first name makes Alex clench her jaw. The way he said it made her feel…there were no words to describe exactly what she was feeling in that moment.

“We’ve all missed you, Maggie,” the Penguin continues. “When you left, it was like someone cut out my own heart.”

“You only missed the money I brought in,” Maggie growls, causing the Penguin to laugh harder.

“You still have your spitfire attitude, I see. Got you into more trouble than I would care to admit, but you still saw each job through. Speaking of which, you still owe me quite a significant figure from your last one.”

Maggie finally looks up, staring him dead in the eye. “I’m aware.”

“Good,” the Penguin grins creepily. “Then you’re aware of exactly how much you owe me given the job was _five years ago_.”

“I don’t have that kind of money, Penguin. I can’t pay you back.”

“Hmm, I was afraid you would say that,” the Penguin murmurs. “Tell you what, I’ll cut you a deal. You give me the money, the initial amount, and rejoin my crew, and I’ll let your little friends go. No harm, no foul.”

“What?” Sara demands. “You’re just going to let her come back just like that? After everything?”

“You know how valuable she is to us, Sara,” the Penguin replies. “So what do you say, Maggie?”

There is silence for several long minutes. Alex could hear her heart pound within her ears, it was so quiet, and she dreaded Maggie’s answer either way.

“I can’t do that,” Maggie finally says, a mischievous grin spreading on her lips. “I spent that money on stuff for my beloved ship, which I would like back by the way so my friends and I can be on our merry way and out of your hair.”

The Penguin’s smile quickly morphs into a sneer. “I had hopes for you, my dear. It pains me that those hopes were misplaced. Take them to the carbonate chamber!”

Suddenly, all of them are being forcefully led through the area to another room, leaving the _Waverider_ crew behind, one that was much smaller and had several pieces of machinery running through it.

“This will teach you to mess with the likes of me!” the Penguin shouted at Maggie, pushing her towards the center of the room. Alex’s eyes widen, realizing what was about to take place.

“No!” she shouted, making to move towards Maggie, but two of Penguin’s guards stopped her. “Don’t do this, please!”

“Alex, stop!” Maggie cried. Alex stopped her resisting, but only slightly as she met the pilot’s big brown eyes, a pleading yet resigned look in both of them. “It’s okay. I’ll be okay. Just…keep fighting, okay? Protect the others, especially Brian.”

“Maggie!” Brian cries.

“You know you cause more trouble than you stop, right?” Maggie says to him. “Just stay safe.”

He nods as Kara, Lena, and Alex watch on in anxious anticipation. “Maggie, please!” Alex pleads, tears streaming down her face. “I love you!”

Maggie’s eyes widen as she smiles slightly. “I know.”

Just as the words leave her mouth, one of the Penguin’s guards pulls a lever that sends Maggie down below the surface. A loud hissing sound comes from underneath them, followed by a bunch of silver smoke. The guard pulls the lever again, and a block of carbonate is brought back up. Alex lets out a strangled cry and she falls to her knees. Maggie was frozen in the carbonate, her face strained and her hands up as if to protect herself from the element, now forever etched in the rock. Everyone shared a horrified expression as the Penguin orders his main henchman, Butch, to take them to their cell.

“We’ll make a pretty penny once the Emperor learns we have his little sister in our custody,” he sneers, leaving the gang in a state of shock as they were led to another cramped room. Alex hung her head low as Kara threatened the guards about hurting Lena and Brian cowered in a corner. They weren’t going to be okay. They were all going to die.

Just like Maggie before them.


	14. Episode XIV: Operation Rescue?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Are you sure about this, Captain Lance?”
> 
> “As sure as I’ll ever be. Now do it before I change my mind.”
> 
> With that, the ship jumped into lightspeed, Sara’s heart hammering against her sternum all the way back to the planet. 
> 
> I’m coming back for ya, Maggie. Please don’t be dead.
> 
> \------------
> 
> Sara goes back to Cordellia to stage a rescue mission, but things don't go as planned...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sara POV chapter. Who saw that coming? Not me lol.
> 
> I start my last (hopefully) college semester today, so updates might be even more sparse than before, but I'll try to get them out to y'all as quickly and as much as I can. 
> 
> Thanks to Pirina and fishingwild for reviewing this beforehand! Y'all are the best!!

_Despite completing her mission successfully, Captain Sara Lance feels conflicted over what went down with her old friend. Because of this, she makes a decision that she hopes she won’t regret down the line…_

 

Sara was a hardened smuggler and an even tougher captain. She had seen things in her time as captain of the _Waverider_ , things that would make even the most seasoned criminal quake in their boots, but nothing could’ve prepared her for what she had just witnessed. Everything around her had moved in slow motion when Penguin yanked Maggie out of her chair and into the carbonate chamber, her heart sinking as she heard the pained cries of her new companions when Penguin pulled the switch. Sara feels a stinging sensation in the back of her eyes and she wills herself not to cry. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go down, at least not to this extent. Sara did expect Maggie to be punished for running away, but to be _frozen in carbonate?_ Of course, Penguin had done far worse to others who had crossed him, but those were usually rival mob bosses; rarely members of his own crew. Maggie was actually only the third person to defect and the only one to succeed, at least up until now.

Sara should’ve seen this coming. The signs were all there; Penguin had begun to devolve from a cunning criminal mastermind to a raving madman these past few months, Sara should’ve known that something like this would’ve happened, but she didn’t think—no, she didn’t _want_ to think that Penguin would turn on Maggie so fast. It both terrified and angered her.

Sara was broken out of her shocked stupor when Penguin and Butch reentered the room, the former giving the latter instructions about something. Something about sending a message to the Emperor and keeping an eye on the prisoners from what Sara could glean as she stormed over to them. “What the hell just happened here?”

Penguin ceases his conversation with Butch, dismissing him as he chuckles lightly. “I did what had to be done, dear Sara.”

“ _What had to be_ _done?_ Look, I get that you’re pissed that she refused to pay you back, but don’t you think turning her into a statue is a bit overkill? If you gave her a ship and a deadline, she might’ve gotten your money back.”

“Maggie would never be able to pay back what she owes me. It would take her several lifetimes before she was able to make a dent in it.”

All of Sara’s breath rushes out of her lungs as Penguin’s words hit her like a blast to the chest. “You were planning this all along.”

“Ah, see? I knew I made a right choice putting you in charge. You’re one of the smarter ones. Not to say that no one else on my crew or your crew isn’t, but the facts are there—”

“Enough of this bullshit!” Sara shouted, her eyes wild and fists clenched. “Why the hell did you do it?”

“You know why.” The smile vanishes from Penguin’s face, the sparkle in his eyes fading to reveal cold, black holes. “Maggie betrayed us, her family, for a silly dream.”

“You promised me that she wouldn’t be harmed!”

“And I kept my promise!” Penguin bites back, the grin returning to his face. “She didn’t feel a thing.”

Sara swung her arm towards Penguin’s face, but he caught it with his thin hand just before it could land a hard punch. “Before you do something you regret, Miss Lance, allow me to ask you a question. Why do you still care about Maggie after everything she’s put us through? After everything she’s put _you_ through?”

Sara remains silent as Penguin’s grip on her arm tightens. He grins wider. “Now…why don’t we move onto a lighter subject? The subject of payment, perhaps? Don’t think I didn’t forget.” He reaches into his coat and pulls out a large bag of credits, thrusting it into Sara’s arms. “You and your crew have done well, so why don’t you take the next few days off? Go to Zeltron, blow off some steam, and when you get back, I’ll have a new assignment for you.”

With that, Penguin stalks off and exits the room, leaving Sara alone with the money. It weighed heavy in her hands as she slogs back to the Waverider, where her crew is waiting anxiously for her.

“How did everything go?” Ray asks the minute she steps foot onto the ship. Sara fights the urge to punch him in the face. As much as she found Ray’s childlike innocence to be quite charming, more often than not, it was quite annoying like it is now. She throws the bag of money at him, which he catches, and his eyes widen at the sight. “Check it out! We’re loaded!”

The rest of the crew gathers around Ray to check out their earnings while Sara sits down in her chair at the bridge, her crewmates’ chatter morphing into white noise in her ears the longer she sits there. “Zip it! Everyone, strap in!”

Everyone does as they are told, but there is still a hum of excitement through the air.

“Gideon.”

“Yes, Captain Lance?” the ship’s AI answers.

“Plot a course to Zeltron.”

“Right away, Captain Lance.”

The crew resumes their celebratory screeching upon hearing their destination, but Sara just feels sick to her stomach as the ship jumps to lightspeed.

 

\---------------------------------------------------

 

Since the moment they landed on Zeltron, everyone from the _Waverider_ crew was having the time of their life. The planet is most well known for their exotic parties and excessive gambling, and people all over the galaxy came here to indulge in crazy urges and sexual pleasures.

And that’s exactly what the _Waverider_ crew was doing.

While they were all off playing card games and having all sorts of fun, Sara was sitting in a booth in the corner of the room as loud music played and several people danced around her, nursing a colorful yet stiff drink completely lost in thought. She can’t stop thinking about Maggie and what happened to her, as well as what happened to her friends. They were all locked up deep within Penguin’s hideout, no doubt, and Sara didn’t even want to think about what he was planning on doing with Maggie; it made her sick to her stomach, so she pushed her drink away.

“Want another?”

Sara looks up to see a beautiful Zeltronian waitress with pretty brown eyes looking at her with an empty tray in her hands. “I’m good, thank you, though.”

The waitress raises a styled eyebrow. “Usually, it takes a lot for people to refuse a drink here on Zeltron, among other things. So what’s on your mind?”

Sara shoots a glare towards the woman. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Instead of leaving, the woman sits down in front of her and gives her a sweet smile that Sara found quite charming. “You don’t have to tell me all the details,” the woman says. “But something is obviously bothering you.”

“Why do you care?”

“I don’t. You’re just bringing the mood in here way down and I can’t have that.”

Sara forces a chuckle and takes a deep breath. “Something really bad happened to an old friend of mine and I want to help her, but I don’t know how.”

The woman hums. “There’s always something to be done, at least that’s what I’ve learned from my experiences. The question is whether or not we are brave enough to do it.”

Sara nods, not expecting this nugget of wisdom to come from a Zeltronian, but then again, she’s seen a lot stranger things. “What’s your name?”

“Nyssa.”

“I’m Sara. And thank you. I think I know what I need to do now.”

Nyssa smiles. “I’m glad to have helped, Sara.”

Sara chugs the rest of her drink before standing up, finding the members of her crew with ease. “Can you do me a huge favor?” She points them out to Nyssa and asks her to make sure they don’t do anything stupid until she gets back. Nyssa agrees and Sara takes off, quickly heading to where she parked the Waverider. She hops in the jump-ship within it and tells Gideon to plot a course back to Cordellia.

“Are you sure about this, Captain Lance?”

“As sure as I’ll ever be. Now do it before I change my mind.”

With that, the ship jumped into lightspeed, Sara’s heart hammering against her sternum all the way back to the planet.

_I’m coming back for ya, Maggie. Just don’t be dead. Please?_

 

\----------------------------------------------------

 

After leaving the jump-ship in a place where no one would be able to find it, Sara swiftly makes her way towards Penguin’s base and sneaks in via the air ducts, not wanting to risk Penguin’s questioning why she was back here so soon, especially after their last conversation. Luckily, she was on the smaller side, much like Maggie, so she could sit through easily. About halfway through crawling through, Sara realizes that she doesn’t have a plan on how she’s going to get Maggie out of here, nor does she know where Maggie is being kept. She sighs, but keeps going. She’ll find her; she has to.

Sara soon hears two men a few yards away from her talking in low voices, so she crawls over as quietly as she could so she could hear them better.

“I heard from Butch that the Emperor himself is on the way here now.”

“The Emperor? Are we in bed with the Empire now?”

“Nah, Penguin ain’t stupid enough to do that. Apparently, we got the Imperial Princess in our custody.”

“The Princess? How did we manage that?”

“Those bozos led by Lance brought her in with Sawyer and her new friends. They’re keeping her with them in Sawyer’s old room, can you believe that?”

“Such a sick fuck, that Penguin.”

Sara clenches her jaw, wanting to punch the mouths right off their smug faces, but instead continued on her way towards Maggie’s room, which was in the west corridor by her old room. Why wasn’t Penguin keeping them in the cells? That seemed like a more logical choice to keep prisoners…maybe Penguin truly was off his rocker. Sara crawled faster. The quicker she got Maggie out, the better.

She touches down on the west corridor and makes her way down the hall, but when she gets to her destination, she is confronted by two more men, who were guarding Maggie’s door.

_Shit._

“Lance,” the larger of the two says. “What are you doing here? I thought you and your team were off world.”

“We were, but we decided to come back early,” Sara explains, the lie passing through her teeth as easily as her breath. “In fact, Rory and I are here to relieve you of your duty.”

“Rory? Where is that hotheaded creep?”

“Bathroom. Long journey back.”

The men share a suspicious glance and the larger one furrows his brow. “We know Penguin ain’t going to put you of all people on guard duty, Lance, so why you really here?”

Sara smiles sweetly. A little too sweetly. “Just…in the neighborhood, fellas.”

Of course, that wasn’t a good excuse, and it takes Sara about two minutes to disarm and knock the guards unconscious. She smirks; she barely broke a sweat. She takes the keys off of the smaller man and unlocks the door to reveal Maggie’s new friends: a blue alien, a red-headed woman, and the woman that Sara assumes is the Imperial Princess based on the way she was carrying herself. She kicks herself for not being able to see it before, but that didn’t matter now. She had to find Maggie.

“What the hell are you doing here?” the red-headed woman demands, her brow furrowed but eyes wide with surprise. The alien’s and princess’s eyes were also filled with surprise upon seeing their former captor here.

“Apparently, I’m on a rescue mission,” Sara says, her brow furrowing as well. Something wasn’t right here. “Wait, weren’t there more of you before? Where’s the blonde chick?”

The three of them share a worried look and the red-headed woman turns away quickly, but Sara could see her jaw grinding. Something was definitely wrong. “She was with us initially,” the blue alien explains, “but they took her elsewhere.”

“Where? And why just her?”

He shrugs. “We don’t know where, but they found out that she was Kryptonian.”

The red-headed woman kicks him in the shin as Sara’s jaw drops. She had managed to capture not only the ever-elusive Maggie Sawyer, but also a member of a dead race and planet _and_ the Imperial Princess and didn’t even know it? What a day she’s having. “Okay. We’ll find her first. Any indication as to where she might be? Did you hear the guards out here talking about her?”

The alien shook his head. “All we’ve heard are her screams. They…they’re terrifying.”

Sara feels the color drain out of her face. She knows exactly where the blonde woman is being held, and she wasn’t looking forward to going there. “I know where she is, but it’s dangerous. You must do as I say at all times, got it?”

“Why should we trust you?” the princess asks. “After all, we’re in this mess because of you.”

“I know. And there’s no reason that you should trust me, but I’m your only ticket out of here unless you want to go back to the Palace, Your Majesty. I heard your big brother is on his way here. No? Alright, everyone follow me and keep quiet.”

Sara leads her new band of misfits all the way across the building, taking the air vents so they don’t get spotted, until they reach their destination: an ancient rusty door that squeaks when you pull on it, and Sara hopes that it won’t alert any nearby guards. They make it all inside and Sara is immediately overcome with dread as the stench of iron and burning flesh hit her nostrils. She fights the urge to puke as she leads the group through the room before ducking behind a shelf filled with various tools. A gasp sounds besides Sara, and her jaw drops at the sight of the blonde woman before them. She’s tied up by her wrists, she’s missing a shirt, her hair is all sweaty and matted with dried blood, and there are several cuts, scratches and bruises adorning her limbs and torso. Sara’s stomach twists in disgust as the door opens again and a tall, lanky man walks in: Crane, Penguin’s master of torture.

“My, my,” the man hisses, his hand waving over a table displaying a large array of medical tools. “I must say I’m quite impressed. Usually, my victims are either talking or dead, so you still being alive is a rather strange change of pace. What did they do to you Kryptonian children? Inject you with some sort of serum to make you last longer than the average human? Was it something in your diet? No matter, I will find out and extract the source of your power and deliver it to Penguin. I’m sure there are lots of people in the market for long-lasting endurance.”

The blonde spits a mouthful of blood at his face and growls. “Do whatever you like to…to me. You’re not getting…anything from…me.”

Crane wipes the blood off with a gloved hand, smirking as he picks up a bone saw. “Suit yourself.”

“NO!”

Crane turns around to see the princess and the red-head sprinting towards him with rage in their eyes. He lifts up his weapon to attack, but Sara beats all of them to the punch (literally) by knocking him unconscious. “What part of always listen to me no matter what did you not understand?”

“Who cares? We need to get Kara!”

Sara and the red-head untie Kara and help her down to the ground, the blonde holding onto the red-head like a lifeline. “Are…you…you guys okay?”

“Better now that we know you are. Come on, we got to get out of here.”

“We have to find Maggie first,” Sara says.

“We don’t know where they’re keeping her,” the princess argues. “Besides, Kara’s injured and needs immediate attention. Do you have something on your ship?”

“My ship is back on Zeltron. I only have the jump-ship, but…if we hurry, we might make it in time to save your friend.”

“Then let’s hurry.”

The alien and the princess help to carry Kara while Sara and the red-head grab some weapons for them and lead them down the hall. Sara plans on taking the shortcut out, but just as they turn down another hallway to do so, they are confronted by a large group of Penguin’s goons led by Butch. “Other way! Run!”

The alien and the princess move as fast as they can while the red-head and Sara make quick work of some of Penguin’s men. “There’s too many of them!” Sara shouts. “Take this!” She tosses a pad to the alien. “The coordinates of the jump-ship are on there! Go! Get your friend out of here!”

“Alex!”

“It’s okay!” the red-head yells. “Save my sister!”

The two nod and quickly make their way down the hall and out of sight. Alex and Sara prepare themselves for the next round as Penguin’s men circle them and Butch makes his way towards them, his fist clenched.

“You ready?”

Sara grins. “I’ve been waiting to do this for a long time.”

 

\----------------------------------------------------------

 

Lena and Brian race through Penguin’s base, the latter leading the way as he had Sara’s pad while Lena was doing her best to keep Kara upright as they dodged blasts and grabs from Penguin’s men. Eventually, they made it outside, sprinting as fast as they could across several filth-ridden streets, Lena wondering all the while how someone could even call this place home. They ducked into the dark alleyway where the jump-ship was hidden, but before they could catch their breath, more of Penguin’s goons show up and begin a new assault on them. Brian presses several buttons on the pad, causing the jump-ship to de-camouflage and its doors to open.

“Get inside!” he yells, and Lena doesn’t hesitate. She hoists Kara onto the tiny pod and buckles her in.

“Brian, come on! We have to go!”

The alien makes his way to board the ship, but a blast finds its way through his shoulder and he lets out a pained cry. “Go! I’ll cover you! Go!”

Another blast rocks the ship, sending Lena flying forward before she could comprehend anything and landing on a button that activated the ship’s autopilot, sending them floating up to the atmosphere.

“Welcome,” a disembodied voice greeted, causing Lena to yell in shock. “What is your destination?”

“Somewhere safe!” Lena shouts frantically. “Somewhere where the likes of the Penguin and the Empire can’t find us.”

The ship immediately jumps into hyper-speed, and Lena holds on for dear life, clutching onto Kara and praying to the powers at be to not let them die. All too soon, the ship’s alarm system begins to blare all around them, filling the ship with a red glow. Lena looks up and sees nothing but fog outside of the ship, feeling something crashing into the sides of the ship before it crashed head on into something. Lena hit her head on the side of the ship, only noticing the red lights and smoke before letting the darkness overtake her completely.


	15. Episode XV: Dagobah

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena looks upon Kara, her eyes raking over the bloody bandages and poultices adorning her face, neck, and shoulders, over the skin that was once impervious to a gun blast. The skin that was now broken and bloody and vulnerable. Lena begins to cry. “She should be healing faster. Why isn’t she healing faster?” 
> 
> \--------
> 
> Lena and Kara arrive on the swamp planet of Dagobah, where they meet an old acquaintance of Lena's and begin to learn more about the power within themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning there's a bit of angst near the end...
> 
> Thanks to Pirina/Kakashi-Chidori and fishingwild for reviewing this beforehand! Y'all rock!!

_Stranded on the swampy planet Dagobah, Lena reunites with an old acquaintance while she and Kara recover and learn more about the Force and their respective abilities…_

 

Lena opens her eyes to an incredible ache in her entire body that was chaining her to the bed. Her eyes took their time to focus, but when they did, Lena notices that she is in a dimly lit room where the walls and roof were made out of mud and bark and moss. She was in a hut.

Why was she in a hut? And _where_ was she?

Lena inclines her head to get a better look at the place when she sees a large figure wearing a green hood hunching over an unconscious woman. An unconscious woman with blonde hair that looked an awful lot like Kara. Kara…

_Kara!_

“Stop!” The word didn’t come out as intimidating as Lena had hoped, but that didn’t matter. Kara was in trouble and she had to help her. Lena moves to stand and get off the bed, but she ends up falling onto her knees with a loud thud, causing the large figure to turn around and face her. He was quite disheveled in appearance with long blonde hair and a scraggly beard, but his eyes were a vivid green that housed both wisdom and trauma. He picks her up and puts her back onto the bed gently, not fazed in the slightest by Lena’s protests and jabs, weak as they were. “Don’t…don’t hurt her.”

The man turns around and picks up a bowl of something and hands it to her. “Drink,” he says, placing it in her hands.

Lena did so, but only hesitatingly and begrudgingly, nearly retching up the putrid liquid when she did so. “Who are you?”

The man kneeled down next to her as he took the bowl back. “The one who saved you and your friend from sinking into the swamps that cover this entire planet.” He turns to look back at Kara. “I’ve been tending to her wounds for the past three days. This is the first time either of you have awoken from your still states.”

Lena’s heart drops to her stomach and she feels sick. “Three days? She’s been unconscious for three days?”

“Yes, but she is strong. Her wounds are healing at an incredible rate, but she still needs to rest.”

Lena looks upon Kara, her eyes raking over the bloody bandages and poultices adorning her face, neck, and shoulders, over the skin that was once impervious to a gun blast. The skin that was now broken and bloody and vulnerable. Lena begins to cry. “She should be healing faster. _Why isn’t she healing faster?_ ” She crawls over to Kara and cradles the Kryptonian’s head in her hands. “She should be healing faster.”

“What do you mean by that?” the man inquires, and Lena freezes, realizing she has said too much.

“It’s n—nothing, I’m just—just really worried about her.”

The man kneels down and places his hand on Kara’s shoulder, closing his eyes and knitting his brow. Lena is confused by this gesture, but is equally as shocked as the man is when he shudders and violently backs away from Kara. “This woman is strong with the Force,” he whispers almost reverently. “I can feel it now, rolling off of both of you in waves.”

“No,” Lena shakes her head vehemently. “Kara has the Force, but I don’t.”

“But you do, same as her and same as me.”

“You have the Force?”

The man nods. “But it has been a long, long time since I have opened myself up to it, so the feeling is almost overwhelming, so if you want to heal your friend faster, you’re going to have to do it yourself.”

“Wait, what? Healing…?”

The man kneels back down in front of them and takes Lena’s shaking hands, placing one on Kara’s forehead and the other on her chest just at the base of her throat. “Be calm and concentrate,” he says. “Breathe. Feel the energy flow through you and use that to heal. Breathe.”

She does as the man says, taking a few deep breaths, closing her eyes an almost buzzing sensation thrummed through her like an engine. Her skin and muscles felt as if they were on fire, yet Lena knew she wasn’t going to burn up despite being terrified out of her mind.

“Breathe,” the man repeats, and Lena takes another deep breath, the thought of Kara completely healed the only one that consumed her mind.

_Please work—please work—please work—please work._

Several long moments pass before Lena hears a sharp intake of breath from below her, and she opens her eyes to see some of the bruises and cuts heal and Kara breathing a bit easier. Lena herself begins to breathe easier as the back of her eyes begin to sting, kissing the top of the Kryptonian’s head and holding her tighter and closer.

“You did it,” the man says, a shadow of a smile on his lips.

Lena smiles tearfully. “Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Like I said, it’s been several years since I’ve opened myself up to the Force. If I were to have attempted this, I might’ve made it worse for your friend. But it’s been even longer since I’ve encountered someone who is Force-sensitive, let alone two of you.”

“Who are you exactly?” Lena inquires, softly stroking Kara’s hair as she slept. “And how did you get…here?”

“My name is Oliver Queen. I’m originally from Coruscant, specifically Star City.”

“Wait. I recognize that name. Weren’t you a part of the Jedi Order in Metropolis?”

Oliver’s eyes widen. “Oh my God. Princess Lena?”

Lena nods and the two share an emotional embrace. “What happened to you? I haven’t seen or heard from you since…since Lex became Emperor.”

Oliver nods grimly. “That was the idea. After Lex had Zor-El unceremoniously executed, the Jedi Order began to crumble at its foundation with a majority of our leaders siding with Lex as to not start another war. Because of this, some of them went mad with the newfound power the new Emperor bestowed on them and began to convert several others to the side of the Sith. I managed to escape with a few others who still believed the Jedi meant something to people, but we were eventually tracked down by Reign and Overman. I was the only one to survive that ordeal, so I stole a ship and plotted a course to the other side of the galaxy, ending up here, on Dagobah, in the process. The pain I felt all across the galaxy was too much, so I closed myself off from the Force and remained here, doing what I could to survive.”

“I’m so sorry,” Lena says, her body and voice tense with shock.

“Don’t have pity for me, Princess. I made my choice.”

“I don’t blame you for running, Oliver. I ran, too. However, I do fault you for not doing anything to fight back.”

“There wasn’t much I could do,” Oliver spits. “I was a powerful Jedi, but even I was no match for Lex and his minions. Even still, I am years out of practice.”

“Well then you better start getting back in practice.”

Oliver furrows his brow. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that when Kara is better, we’re going to leave this swamp planet behind and go back to Corsuscant to overthrow my brother and restore balance to the galaxy.” Lena blinks in surprise at the statement that just flowed out of her mouth, but she believed them. She wasn’t afraid anymore. She was going to do something about all the pain her family had inflicted across the galaxy. She was going to right their wrongs.

“That’s a noble plan, Princess, but how do you propose we get out of here?” Oliver demands. “Your ship sustained a lot of damage when you crashed here.”

“I know my way around wires and a mainframe. I can easily fix the ship.”

“That’s all well and good, but what about the overthrowing your brother part of your plan? Your brother is a very powerful Sith, you don’t stand a chance against him unless you learn how to control the Force.”

Lena shakes her head. “I still don’t understand how it’s possible for me to have the Force. I’ve never felt any sort of power like it in my entire life.”

“I thought it was obvious you would be inclined to the Force since your brother was.” Oliver furrows his brow. “The Force works in mysterious ways.”

Lena looks down at Kara, and thought back to their time on Earth-1.“We were on Earth-1 when we both learned we were Force-sensitive, and there was a man there who was willing to teach us. However, I was so scared about tapping into that power out of fear of being corrupted like Lex that I refused. I’m still terrified of it. Just now, I was scared that I was going to hurt Kara more instead of heal her.”

Oliver nods understandingly. “The Force is a powerful and enigmatic entity. If you wish to overthrow the Emperor, you’re going to have to learn how to harness it and use it.”

“Would you be willing to teach me?”

“I haven’t used the Force in years.”

“I know, but that doesn’t matter. You still have years of practice and studies under your belt, which is still incredibly helpful.”

Oliver’s mouth goes into a thin line, letting out a sigh a few seconds later. “Alright. We begin first thing tomorrow.”

He stands up and exits the hut to go find food for tonight as well as a place to train, leaving Lena alone to care for Kara. She holds the Kryptonian close to her and kisses her forehead. “We’re going to be okay,” she whispers to the unconscious Kara. “We’re going to be okay.”

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------

 

Kara is still asleep when Oliver and Lena leave to go train. The latter was less than willing to leave Kara all alone, but Oliver said she would be fine for a few hours. They walk through the trees and travel a few miles west to a somewhat open area next to a large swamp. Lena is sweating profusely by the time they arrive—she and the heat did not agree with each other—but Oliver appears to be fine. He moves to the center of the clearing and sits down, crosses his legs and looks up at Lena. “Sit down.”

Lena crouches down and sits across from the former Jedi Knight, imitating his position.

“Close your eyes,” Oliver instructs. “And do as I say.”

“I will admit, I’m a little nervous.”

“That’s okay. Remember the Force is neither good nor evil. It is up to the user to wield it how they see fit. Now take a deep breath and reach out.”

Lena closes her eyes and follows Oliver’s instructions, focusing solely on her breathing and the sounds and smells of the forest around her. Suddenly, she begins to feel something; a slight sensation that was pushing and pulling her at the same time, running through her bloodstream like a hot body of lava. “I…I think I feel it…”

“Good,” Oliver says. “What do you feel?”

“Light. Darkness. A…a balance of both.”

“That’s the Force flowing through you, raw and untapped. You’re going to try something now. Reach out and see if you can sense your friend. Kara’s her name, right? See if you can feel her.”

Thinking to herself that she always feels Kara, Lena reaches out further with her mind and smiles when she feels the familiar warmth of her love back in the hut miles away. “That was incredible!” Lena exclaims as she opens her eyes. “I didn’t know the Force could be used like that.”

“That’s just the beginning,” Oliver says, a shadow of a smile on his lips. “Opening yourself up to the Force connects you with other living beings and can help you sense disturbances or danger.”

“I can feel _everything_ , even now.”

“What you need to learn how to do now is to focus on that energy flowing through you and turn it into something useful. Let’s see what you can do.”

For the next few hours, Oliver tries to teach Lena how to use the Force as a weapon, or “an extension of oneself”, as he called it. The exercise leaves Lena completely drained, the two finally going home when she lifted a small rock with her mind. Oliver said it was a good start for somebody who hasn’t been training all their lives and that they would continue tomorrow. They head back to the hut for food and sleep—Lena was so hungry, her stomach was about to eat itself—to find Kara now awake but really confused. “Lena?”

“Kara!” Lena practically threw herself onto the Kryptonian, wrapping her up in her arms and smothering her with relieved kisses. “Thank goodness you’re awake!”

“Where are we?”

“On Dagobah. The ship crashed, but I’m going to fix it so we can get out of here.” Lena felt Oliver standing behind her. “Kara, this is Oliver. He was a Jedi Knight under my father and has offered to teach us more about the Force.”

Kara’s eyes widen. “Really?”

“You need to rest some more first,” Oliver says, crouching down to examine her bandages. “You sustained a lot of injuries from the crash.”

Kara’s face falls and she stiffens in Lena’s arms. “These…these weren’t from the crash.”

Lena rubs Kara’s shoulders comfortingly while Oliver places a hand on one of the wounds, shuddering slightly. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

Kara turns back to Lena, her blue eyes big and filled with tears. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

Lena leans down and kisses Kara firmly on the lips. “As am I with you.”

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------

 

The next few weeks are spent recovering—more so on Kara’s part—and training with Oliver, learning all about the ways of the Force. When she wasn’t training, meditating, or tending to Kara, Lena was working on fixing the ship so they would have a way to get off the planet once they were done training, which Lena hoped was soon. Kara was completely healed by the end of the week and was eager to start training, and Oliver did his best to help her control her heightened abilities.

“How come my abilities are more… _more?_ ” Kara asks Oliver after a session with Lena looking on in curiosity.

“Different abilities, stronger abilities, can develop in users of the Force depending on how deep their connection to it is,” Oliver explains, and Lena deflates. Kara feels guilty about asking, but before she could say anything, Lena turns and heads back to the hut, claiming she needs to continue working on the ship. “Give her time,” Oliver says. “She’ll come around.”

“She can be quite stubborn,” Kara replies. “As you know.”

Oliver chuckles, shrugging. “It has been a long while since the Princess and I have interacted, and even then we didn’t interact much, but she seems to be more open than she was back then, and that has to do with you.”

“What?”

“I can feel it. You’re the reason she’s here. She really cares about you.”

Kara’s heart leaps in her chest as she smiles sadly. “I really care about her, too. I just…she’s so strong, stronger than most people regardless of whether or not she had the Force. She’s so smart and so brave and so _caring_ , especially after all that she’s been through, and I love her all the more for it. I don’t—I don’t want her to feel inferior just because I have different abilities.”

“Love was often looked down upon in the Jedi Order,” Oliver says. “We were encouraged to distance ourselves from it, that it was a weakness of sorts. Now that I’ve opened myself back up to the Force, I can surely say that love makes us stronger. It certainly makes the both of you stronger.” He looks in the direction where Lena stormed off. “She doesn’t hate you, that I know. Why don’t you go talk to her?”

Kara nods and flies back through the forest, her eyes searching for Lena’s figure. She finds her camped out on a large rock with her knees tucked into her chest, her eyes stained red. Kara’s heart sank. She should’ve been more careful about what she said. She tentatively approaches Lena as the latter lets out a frustrated huff. “It’s not you, Kara. It’s me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I should be better,” Lena spoke through gritted teeth. “I need to be better to defeat Lex. I need to be stronger than him so I can stand a chance.”

“Hey. You _are_ stronger than him.”

“I’m not stronger than you.”

Kara stiffens slightly and her heart drops. “Lena, I never wanted to make you feel like this. You’ve come a long way and I am so proud of you with all that you’ve been able to do and all that you will be able to do. You will overthrow Lex and I will be there to help you every step of the way, I promise.”

A tear escapes Lena’s eye and runs down her cheek. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to make you feel bad.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Kara crouches down and wraps Lena up in her arms, gently rocking her back and forth. “Your feelings are valid. Never apologize for them. And I’m going to tell you right now that you are one of the strongest people that I know. Maybe you aren’t where you want to be yet, but you will be. Your determination is one of your best traits.”

Lena manages a strangled laugh as Kara kisses her on the forehead. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

Kara smiles as she wipes away her love’s tears with her thumbs. “You walked into ‘Lost Stars’ and spoke in a language that I thought was long dead. You reignited a spark in me, Lena. You gave me hope again.”

“Well, the feeling is mutual, Kara Zor-El. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Kara leans in and captures Lena’s lips with her own, running her finger through the brunette’s hair as Lena pulls her forward by the collar of her shirt. Kara opens herself up to the Force as Oliver taught her, and immediately she could feel the love radiating off of Lena in waves, almost overwhelming her. But Kara didn’t faint; she relished in it, she let it flow through her and make her stronger. Love was just as strong as hope, and if they had both, they would be able to do anything.

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

 

Another two months pass in this manner: training, fixing the ship, training again with just Kara this time, fixing the ship some more, eating, mediating/sleeping, repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

_Repeat._

There was only so much repetition that Lena could take before she exploded, so she confronts Oliver about when they would be done training.

“It will be a long while before that,” Oliver says. “Becoming a Jedi is a lifelong journey.”

Lena clenches her jaw. “Who said anything about becoming Jedi? I only asked you to help me learn how to control the Force. We don’t have time for that, we need to leave _now_ and regroup with the Rebellion back on Coruscant before Lex can do any more damage to the galaxy.”

“You can’t rush this—”

“Please, Oliver! We’re running out of time!”

“Princess, listen to me. If we move forward to the next step of training when neither you or Kara are finished with this step, there could be dire consequences.”

“People out there are dying! I believe that is consequence enough!”

“Princess—”

Lena yells loudly in frustration as she clenches her fist, power rushing through her like a bolt of lightning. It _was_ a rush; Lena had never felt it this strongly before.

“Princess!”

She could feel—she could _see_ —the white light around her, circling her as it flew out of her hands.

“Princess, stop!”

She smiles. This is what power is supposed to feel like.

“LENA!”

The sound of her love’s voice breaks the spell, and Lena falls to her knees as the power ceases to flow through her. She breathes heavily as she looks up to see Oliver and now Kara looking at her in shock. “What happened?”

“You were controlling lightning!” Kara exclaims. “Just like Barry and Wally!”

Lena blinks, her body shaking. She looks around and sees several large rocks cracked in half and her eyes widen. “I…I did, didn’t I?”

“This is what I’m talking about, Princess,” Oliver says in a hard tone. “You aren’t ready yet. You need to gain better control over your emotions.”

“My emotions are fine,” Lena growls, standing back up. “Oliver, we need to go back.”

“Maybe he’s right, Lena,” Kara says timidly. “Maybe we need to stay at least for a little bit.”

Lena shoots Kara a deathly glare. “The ship is almost fixed. Once it is, I am leaving with or without you.”

Kara’s face falls and Lena realizes what she just said. “Kara, I didn’t mean that.”

But it’s no use. Kara flies back to the hut, and Lena could feel the sadness flowing out of her, hitting her over and over again until she fell back to her knees. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“Anger makes us say things that we don’t necessarily mean,” Oliver says coolly. “But sometimes we give into it and hurt the ones we care about the most. You will stay here for the night and meditate.”

“What?”

“You are still a Padawan and until I say so, we are staying here until you have a better grip on your emotions as well as what you plan on doing with the Force after you dethrone your brother.”

With that, Oliver follows the path back to the hut, leaving Lena all alone in the stifling hot swampy jungle. She cries out in frustration again, tears flowing hotly down her cheeks. She wanted to get on the ship now, but she knew deep down that Kara and Oliver were right. She couldn’t face her brother in this state. Begrudgingly, Lena sits up and closes her eyes, following the breathing pattern that Oliver taught her as she tries to calm down and push the anger out of her, hoping that Kara could feel her remorse for what she said.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave a comment if you want!!
> 
> If you want, you can follow me at its-danigobingo-world.tumblr.com and we can cry about Supercorp together and be friends!


End file.
